As expected, the Peking Union Medical College Hospital has been announced as the entity that will partner with the government to manage the Islands District Medical Complex (also known as the Islands Hospital).
The official announcement was made yesterday during a press conference held by the working group for the preparation of the Islands Hospital.
The appointment of the Beijing entity came as no surprise. In mid-September, the same working group had already foreshadowed a high probability of the choice.
At the time, the director of the Health Bureau (SSM), Alvis Lo, refused to release the names of the entities being considered as negotiations were still ongoing.
Yesterday, after the announcement, the coordinator of the working group and former SSM director, Lei Chin Ion, also refused to divulge the names of other institutions that the government claimed had been considered in the process.
The working group members continued to claim that the decision was made only after the results of a study ordered from the Faculty of Medicine at Hong Kong University (HKUMed) which said that the best operating model for the Islands Hospital would be a public-private partnership. However, the name of the Beijing institution had been aired on several occasions before the results of this study were known, suggesting that the appointment had been made at an earlier stage.
There were other hints of this during the press conference yesterday, such as Lei’s remark that local authorities had decided on the Beijing entity following the “recommendation from the National Health Commission (NHC).”
At the same press conference, Lei remarked that the Beijing medical institution has over 100 years of history and is a large medical institution with both the capacity and knowledge to “fulfill the duty assigned to them by the NHC in a great manner.”
Doing a presentation of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Wong Cheng Po, a member of the same working group, highlighted the institution’s experience, awards, and national and international recognition, noting the reasons that make it the right candidate to run the Islands Hospital.
Questioned by the media, Lei said that initially the government had planned to manage the hospital on its own but, “after a report from HKUMed, we decided to cooperate with Peking Union Medical College Hospital. We realized that this would be more beneficial for Macau.”
The coordinator of the working group also remarked that the partnership does not involve commercial cooperation, so there is no compensation to be paid by the government to the managing partner.
“We do not pay them anything as this is not a service outsourcing [arrangement], and we also do not charge them any tax for the services they provide as this is not a private hospital. They will also not share any part of the potential profits that will be invested in the development of the hospital,” Lei said, adding that the hospital will be managed as a non-profit organization.
“What we will do is pay the salaries of the staff that will be sent to Macau from the Beijing entity,” the coordinator remarked.
Another member of the working group, Chou Kuok Hei, added that there will be no contradiction between the service provided by the Islands Hospital and the Public Hospital (Conde de São Januário Hospital Center) as the main difference is that the staff will not be considered civil servants.
Details about how the hospital will operate and which government entity will supervise it, as well as further details of salaries and other benefits, were left for laws and regulations relating to the facility which have not yet been produced.
The only information of this nature made public today was that the hospital management committee will comprise an equal number of members from Macau and the Beijing entity.
Chou also added that people should not be concerned about the arrangement as the service prices and special benefits currently granted by the public health system will continue to apply in the new hospital.
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