College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine

China healthcare collaboration commended

A University healthcare initiative has been honoured at the China-Scotland Business Awards.

Colleagues collect the award

The University was named Business-Education Collaboration of the Year for its International Diabetes Centre at Shenzhen People’s Hospital in Guangdong Province. 

The centre is part of a £7 million healthcare and science project in Shenzhen, which is China’s third largest city.

China-Scotland Business Awards 

The project was praised for establishing research capabilities alongside clinical services and making a direct impact on China’s significant issue of chronic diabetes. 

Also shortlisted for recognition at the awards was the China-UK Low-Carbon College, a collaboration between Edinburgh and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

The China-Britain Business Council’s Chinese Burns Supper has been a fixture in the China-Scotland business calendar for five years. 

The event, attended by Scotland’s business and education community, combines Scottish and Chinese culture, fusing Burns Night traditions with Chinese New Year. 

Hua Xia Healthcare

The Shenzhen initiative is a partnership between the University and China-based Hua Xia Healthcare Holdings. 

The collaboration will develop medical and scientific knowledge over the next four years as the city attempts to increase its number of hospital beds by 22,000.

Staff from Edinburgh will support medical education and research at Shenzhen University’s new medical school and teaching hospital campus. 

Institute at BioQuarter

The partnership will establish the University of Edinburgh - Hua Xia Healthcare Institute for Medical Research, Education and Management at Edinburgh BioQuarter, Little France.

The institute will support the development, planning and management of healthcare projects in Shenzhen, a city with a population of more than 10 million.

Shenzhen People’s Hospital sees 80,000 out-patients a year. We are introducing a new service model and informatics platform modelled on Scotland’s world-leading diabetes care management system, along with an Edinburgh-led staff training and education programme.

Professor Andrew MorrisVice Principal, the University of Edinburgh

Shenzhen and Edinburgh

The agreement follows a 2013 Memorandum of Understanding regarding creative and technology sector collaboration between the City of Shenzhen and City of Edinburgh Council.

The initiative aims to develop the UK’s efforts to engage with healthcare in China.

It will seek to provide a sustainable model for supporting healthcare projects in China.

The agreement will also deliver inward investment to Scotland and help provide opportunities for UK-based medical technology companies to enter the Chinese market.

Chinese Healthcare

Healthcare reform in China is a national priority. The sector is challenged by resource and skill shortages and an increase in common diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Chronic diseases such as diabetes pose a major challenge to the social welfare and economic growth of the country.  One in four of the world’s diabetics are in China.

China’s healthcare spending in 2015 was £411 billion. This is expected to reach £750bn by 2020.

This is a great start to an exciting partnership we are building with Hua Xia Healthcare and the Shenzhen People’s Hospital. We are looking forward to developing the collaboration, opening up new business and research opportunities and creating new products, programmes and services that will benefit both patients and hospital staff.

Hugh EdmistonDirector of Corporate Services, the University of Edinburgh

Related Links 

Shenzhen University

Hua Xia Healthcare Holdings