Edinburgh expertise helps found China hospital
A 200-bed hospital in China’s Fujian Province has been established by a University healthcare initiative.
The Edinburgh International Hospital, located in Putian City, will focus on paediatrics and the treatment of diabetes.
It will also provide general medical services, training and research facilities.
Hong Kong partnership
The hospital has been established by Edinburgh International Investments Ltd, a joint venture between the University of Edinburgh and China’s Hua Xia Healthcare Holdings.
The group draws on the University’s expertise and excellence in training, education, research, data science and health services management.
Edinburgh International Investments is also supporting the development of Putian’s £5.6 billion Mazu International Health City project, which will establish another four specialist hospitals.
Chinese Healthcare
Healthcare reform in China is a national priority. The sector has 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 £750 billion by 2020.
Putian, a city of 2.8 million people, is home to 80 per cent of China’s 12,000 private hospitals.
The Edinburgh International Hospital will officially be established on 14 October by City of Edinburgh Lord Provost Frank Ross and Julian Taylor, Executive Director Asia Pacific, Scottish Development International. The hospital is due to open by summer 2019.
Our project with Putian City aligns perfectly with our strategy to deliver excellence in healthcare service provision, medical training and research. We believe our hospitals can provide opportunities for clinicians, researchers and service providers who are keen to work in China’s rapidly transforming healthcare sector. This will be our first hospital, with other projects to follow in the near future.
Collaboration commended
The partnership between Edinburgh and Hua Xia Healthcare was last year named Business-Education Collaboration of the Year at the China-Scotland Business Awards
The award was in recognition of the 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.
As a result of the partnership, in 2016, the Institute for Medical Research, Education and Management was established at Edinburgh BioQuarter, Little France.