page_title: Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital / History
caption_attribution_description: English: zh:西邊街zh:西區社區中心 - 前贊育醫院
context_page_description: The Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital is located at No. 36A Western Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1922 under the Chinese Public Dispensary Committee. After the war, Tsan Yuk Hospital has moved to Hospital Road and the site has become a multi-purpose community centre called Western District Community Centre.
  Three-storeys high and 1,100 m² in area, the British-colonial-style building comprises a three-storey hospital block with a basement, a two-storey staff quarters with annex and a one-storey servant quarters, all of which have now been converted into offices and function rooms for the community centre.
context_section_description: Tsan Yuk Hospital was originally located at the cross-section of Western Street and Third Street in Hong Kong's Sai Ying Pun district. The land on which the hospital was built was donated by the government and the $94,000 construction fee was donated by Mr. H. M. H Nemazee, Sai Ying Pun Kai Fong Committee (西營盤街坊會) of the Fishmongers' Guild (魚販商會) and Fruit and Vegetable Sellers' Guild (蔬果販商協會). The thirty beds were donated by Tung Wah Hospital, another government hospital located in neighbouring Sheung Wan.
  The hospital was opened by the English missionary group London Missionary Society on 17 October 1922. It was originally opened as a maternity hospital, with the intention to meet society's increasing demand for neonatal services, including the training of midwives and obstetricians. The London Missionary Society recruited the first foreign female doctor in Hong Kong, Dr. Alice D. Hickling, and appointed her as the director of Tsan Yuk. In her development of obstetric services, she quickly recognized the abundance of women eager to become professional midwives in Hong Kong, and had the notion to provide such training through the hospital. She suggested this to Dr. S.W. Tso (曹善允博士), Chairman of the Chinese Public Dispensary Committee (華人公共診所委員會), and he supported her proposal. Thus forward, Tsan Yuk became one of Hong Kong's foremost maternity teaching hospitals.
  Tsan Yuk Hospital was closed in 1944, during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, and most of the furniture and equipment was moved to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital.
  By the early 1950s, Tsan Yuk was experiencing bed shortages and limited places for patients. The Hong Kong Jockey Club donated $3,570,000 to build a new hospital on nearby Hospital Road. On 13 June 1955, Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham held the opening ceremony for the new Tsan Yuk Hospital. Following the move, the premises were then used to house the Western District Community Centre.
caption: The building was renamed as Western District Community Centre, but the old Tsan Yuk Hospital Sign is still displayed there.
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