Ruttonjee Hospital

Ruttonjee Hospital
Hospital Authority and the Hong Kong Tuberculosis, Chest and Heart Diseases Association
Refer to caption Ruttonjee Hospital, viewed from Queen's Road East
Geography
Location	266 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong
Coordinates
Organisation
Funding	Public hospital
Hospital type	General, Teaching
Affiliated university	Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong
Network	Hong Kong East Cluster
Services
Emergency department	Yes Accident & Emergency
Beds	600
History
Founded	1991 (1991); historical ties to Royal Naval Hospital (Hong Kong) (1841)
Links
Lists	Hospitals in Hong Kong

Ruttonjee Hospital (Chinese: 律敦治醫院) is a hospital in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is affiliated with the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Hong Kong, and provides clinical attachment opportunities for the university's medical students.

History

File:HK Ruttonjee Hospital fn.jpg

Ruttonjee Hospital

Centrally located in Wan Chai, the Ruttonjee Hospital is a recently redeveloped hospital with a history that goes back more than 140 years. It was founded on the Mount Shadwell, Wan Chai site which was formerly occupied by the "Royal Naval Hospital", which was severely damaged during the Second World War.

In 1949, the "Ruttonjee Sanatorium" (律敦治療養院) was set up with the support of Mr Jehangir Hormusjee Ruttonjee in memory of his daughter, Tehmi Ruttonjee-Desai, who died of tuberculosis in 1943. It was one of the main institutions specifically treating tuberculosis in Hong Kong.

It was converted into the "Ruttonjee Hospital", a 600-bed general hospital, in 1991 not only because the number of patients suffering from tuberculosis had decreased, but also because patients are increasingly treated by out-patient chemotherapy. The hospital now provides a wide range of services to meet the requirements of the community.

Since reconstruction, the hospital has become an acute general hospital with general medical and surgical specialities. It does not, however, provide paediatric, obstetric or gynaecological cover. Its surgical department enjoys high acclaim as the Ruttonjee is the only hospital in Hong Kong to provide sex-change operations. The geriatrics service has also developed in recent years in response to the aging population of the Wan Chai district.

Controversy

On Wednesday 31 March 2010 the Hong Kong High Court approved a settlement in the legal action brought by British author Martin Jacques over the death of his wife Harinder Veriah, who was hospitalized in Ruttonjee Hospital after an epileptic fit on 1 January 2000 and died the following evening; the case seemed to expose racial prejudice and medical negligence by doctors and staff.

See also

• Seaman's Hospital
• HMS Tamar