At HKU, students and staff who need a medical or dental check-up can head over to the University Health Service (UHS) in Meng Wah Complex for a free consultation. Did you know that the University has been providing healthcare services to the HKU community since just after the Second World War? Or that the UHS once occupied an entire building of its own?

In the aftermath of the Second World War, social hygiene conditions were generally extremely poor. Tuberculosis was widespread and many HKU students succumbed to the disease. To help prevent its spread, the University provided basic medical support like chest X-rays and nutritional advice to students. This marked the earliest form of medical support provided by the University.

In 1948, the Student Health Service was founded on a small scale with only two rooms, 0.5 doctors and 0.5 nurses, and even did not operate on a full-time basis. On New Year’s Day of 1956, the service was upgraded to an official University Health Service (UHS), located in the Lugard Wing of Old Halls, which stood near what is now the Chong Yuet Ming Fountain. It was later relocated to the East Gate Lodge (the area in front of the present Hung Hing Ying Building), and then temporarily moved to the West Gate Lodge (today, an area near the Haking Wong Building bus stop).

It wasn’t until 1973 when the Pao Siu Loong Health Centre – named after the father of the founder of Hong Kong’s international shipping company, Sir Pao Yue-King – was formally opened as a comprehensive healthcare facility. Not only did they double the number of medical staff to cope with the growing HKU community and its demand for health services, but the Centre also offered pre-employment body checks, dental services, physiotherapy and more. Student and staff numbers continued to grow in the 1990s, and the UHS relocated to its current location in the Meng Wah Complex in 1995. Since then, the UHS has brought in even more medical staff and further expanded its services to cater to the different needs of staff and students, from infant and elderly health care to seasonal influenza vaccinations and travel-related medication. Whether it was the SARS outbreak of 2003 or COVID-19 in 2020, the UHS continued to safeguard the health of the campus community and provide a range of specialist care. One can trace the development of the UHS in the photos of its staff that line the corridors of the facility.

After caring for the well-being of the HKU community for 22 years, the Pao Siu Loong Health Centre has been renamed the Pao Siu Loong Building, but continues to provide different support services for our students and staff. To learn more about the current role of the Pao Siu Loong Building , stay tuned to the release of our next article!