Macao has signed an agreement with Peking Union Medical College Hospital formalising its upcoming operation and management of the hospital complex in Cotai, officially known as Islands Healthcare Complex.
The government announced in late 2021 that Peking Union Medical College Hospital would operate the Cotai hospital complex, which is now scheduled to start operating in phases at the end of this year.
Construction work on the hospital is largely complete, apart from the central laboratory which should be finished next month, and the rehabilitation wing which has yet to break ground.
The Legislative Assembly last month passed the outline of a government-initiated bill regulating the management of the hospital, which proposes that the government will ensure that the operation of the Islands Healthcare Complex will be sufficiently financed, while Peking Union Medical College Hospital will be responsible for day-to-day operation and management, through its “brand” and medical techniques.
The hospital’s operation will be overseen by the secretary for social affairs and culture, according to the bill, which is being reviewed article-by-article by one of the legislature’s standing committees.
The cooperation agreement was signed by Macao Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U and Peking Union Medical College Hospital President Zhang Shuyang.
According to the agreement, the government will have long-term cooperation with Peking Union Medical College Hospital, in various fields such as healthcare, medical education, scientific research and the transformation of its results, international exchanges and the development of a “big health” sector.
The government has underlined that the complex will be operated as a public hospital.
Zhang, who is also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, commented that his hospital’s management team “has developed a deep friendship” with Macao through its collaboration with the government for the upcoming operation of the Cotai hospital complex.
