The Prince Philip Dental Hospital (PPDH) is a dental teaching hospital in

Sai Ying Pun Sai Ying Pun is an area in Western District, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is administratively part of the Central and Western District. Etymology In Cantonese, ''Sai'' () means "west" and ''Ying Pun'' () means "camp", especially a ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

. It houses the Faculty of Dentistry of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hon ...

and is governed by the Prince Philip Dental Hospital Ordinance.

History

Government Civil Hospital 1849–1937

Government Civil Hospital was opened in 1849 on this site to provide Western medical care. The first hospital was destroyed by a typhoon in 1874 and relocated to new site at the former Hotel d'Europe and Central Police Barracks on Hollywood Road. The second site burned down in 1878. A third site was acquired in 1879 by relocating to the old Lock Hospital and remained there until it closed for good in 1937 after the opening of the Queen Mary Hospital.

Sai Ying Pun Hospital 1937-1978

After 1937, the site was repurposed to handle infectious diseases as Sai Ying Pun Hospital and closed by 1978. This second hospital was demolished to make way for the current Dental Hospital.

Dental Hospital 1981-present

Construction on the $200 million hospital, designed by the

Architectural Services Department The Architectural Services Department is a department of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for the design and construction of many public facilities throughout the territory. It is subordinate to the Works Branch of the Development Bu ...

, began in 1979. It was planned as a response to a shortage of dentists in the territory. It was opened on 24 March 1981 by

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

, then-president of the

British Dental Association The British Dental Association (BDA) is a registered trade union for dentists in the United Kingdom. Its stated mission is to "promote the interests of members, advance the science, arts and ethics of dentistry and improve the nation's oral he ...

. Soon after the hospital opened, the Independent Commission Against Corruption carried out an extensive investigation into the provision of equipment at the new facility due to suspected commercial fraud. Much of the original equipment were suspected copies of reputable models and were not fully operable. Repairs and replacements had to be carried out on all dental chairs, stools, bunsen burners, dental drills, instrument modules, ultrasonic scalers, and operating lights. Investigators stated that there was no health threat to the public. In 1983 the hospital board chairman Lydia Dunn stated that the hospital was one of the foremost dental teaching hospitals in the world. A 1984 report by the Audit Commission stated that 23% of the original equipment in the hospital was faulty, blaming the blunder on mismanagement and confused responsibility. Still, the hospital was considered world-class, and the first cohort of dental graduates eased the critical shortage of dentists in Hong Kong from 1985 onward. As of 2016, two in three dentists in Hong Kong graduated from the University of Hong Kong (HKU). The HKU School of Dentistry was ranked #1 in the world in the 2016 QS World University Rankings.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sai Ying Pun Teaching hospitals in Hong Kong University of Hong Kong