Unsung Service: A Historical Study of Catholic Clinics in Hong Kong (1890-1990)

Research purposes:

Clinics run by the Catholic Church serve millions of people each year, effectively helping to address the medical needs of the poor. The early development of Church clinics benefitted from the status of Western medicine in the former British colony. They flourished in the 1950s, when the population increased due to the influx of refugees. In the 1990s, when the low-cost public medical system became more comprehensive, Catholic clinics started to decline in numbers, reflecting economic and policy changes, and ideological acceptance of Western medical services. This research project will

1. Examine the similarities and differences in the objectives and methods of setting up clinics by three types of Catholic organizations: religious congregations, Caritas Hong Kong and faithful groups;
2. Study the changes in Catholic clinics and the needs of the people to reflect the social environment of the time and the evolution of medical policies;
3. Analyze the contribution and effectiveness of Catholic clinics as a missionary mean compared to other social services of the Church.

Overall plan: The research is divided into three periods, mainly based on archival documents, supplemented by oral histories of medical staff and patients. In the early days of the local Church from 1890 to 1939, a severe epidemic prompted religious missionaries to enter medical services with clinics mostly belong to part of the hospitals they run. Besides offering emerging medical help, these missionaries also bear the mindset of evangelization. From 1940 to 1960, before and after wartime, the influx of refugees demanded more medical services in different districts. In addition to the existing ones run by religious congregations, Catholic clinics became more diverse in their operating organizations or services, including Caritas Hong Kong and faithful associations. Caritas Hong Kong, a government-subsidized Catholic social welfare institution, aims to help the underprivileged with urgent needs, but medical care is only one area of ​​its social services. Faithful associations, as informal medical group, provided free services through their professional members or funding they have. From 1961 to 1990, the declining numbers of Catholic clinics showed that “to stay or close” was a decision that the operators had to make. The role of some organizations gradually receded in history, reflecting the rapid economic development of Hong Kong, the substantial improvement of the low-cost public medical sector, and the changes in the way patients seek medical treatment during this period.

We greatly need historical information from the 1950s to 1990s. If you or your relatives or friends are living or have lived in Fanling (Lung Yeuk Tau or Ta Ku Ling), Taipo, Ta Hang Tung, Kwun Tong, Kings Park, Chaiwan, Tiu Keng Leng or Jordan Valley and remembered the Catholic clinic in the vicinity, or had worked or received services of these clinics, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for oral history interview: luciacheung@cuhk.edu.hk／ 3943-9433.

Caption: St. Joseph’s Caritas Clinic run by the Missionary Sisters of St. Columban at Ta Ku Ling frontier closed area of Fanling district.