Cancer has been one of the diseases threatening millions of peoples’ life around the globe. In Hong Kong, new cancer cases jumped by 3.8% in a year, reaching 31,468 cases in 2016 alone. An aging population has led to a projection that the number of new cases in 2030 is likely to increase by about 30 to 40 percent compared with that in 2016.
As the major public hospital serving Hong Kong Eastern district with a population of around 800,000, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital (“PYNEH”) provides a comprehensive oncology services to patients affected by cancer. Striving to render high quality patient-centered services, PYNEH was able to transform the previous oncology centre to an Integrated Oncology Day Centre (“IODC”) as a one-stop service hub with the support of The D. H. Chen Foundation (“The Foundation”).
Commencing service since December 2020, IODC offers a comfortable environment and efficient medical services to oncology patients. It can serve nearly 10,000 annual attendances, meaning patients’ hospitalization days can be minimized and inpatient beds can be spared for more pressing cases. Beside the enhanced service quality and capacity, the IODC is designed with a warm, radiant and hopeful ambience to facilitate patients’ healing process.
The Foundation has always been recognizing the importance of providing holistic care to oncology patient at a safe and pleasant environment, and changing service model to meet the demand. It is hoped that the establishment of the IODC can achieve this goal, at the same time can offer less distressing experience to patients and their family members during the cancer journey.