Page 42 - HKU Surgery 110 Anniversary E-Book

Chapter II: Hong Kong’s First Academic Surgical Unit
Establishing a Place to Grow
Digby’s first position at HKU was
Professor of Anatomy, which he held
while serving as surgical consultant to
government hospitals. Two years later, in
1915, he was appointed the first Chair of
Surgery – thus holding two chairs at one
time – through a $50,000 endowment
from Sir Robert Ho Tung. But he also
had useful talents beyond medicine.
The Faculty still relied heavily on part-
time teaching support from doctors
in the community and was in need of
more funding and space. In 1920, as
Digby School of Surgery at HKU.
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acting Dean, Digby acted to address
the challenges, displaying prodigious
fundraising skills to go alongside his
surgical talents.
At the request of the University Council,
he wrote to the Rockefeller Foundation
seeking endowments for three new chairs,
in Surgery, Obstetrics, and Medicine. He
had previously made a good impression
on a visiting delegation from the
Foundation and so, in 1922, they agreed
to his request. The funding enabled a
restructuring of clinical teaching and
Queen Mary Hospital (circa 1937).
staff organisation. It also prompted Digby of the Professorial Block at Queen Mary
to step down as Chair of Anatomy to Hospital, where it remains to this day.
focus on Surgery and turn his skills
towards securing more resources. It was Digby’s teaching, though, that
helped establish standards of excellence
Surgery lessons were still confined to the in surgery and the medical school as a
Government Civil Hospital and Tung whole, earning high praise from HKU’s
Wah Hospital, so Digby launched a fund- then Vice-Chancellor Duncan Sloss.
raising effort for a dedicated School of
Surgery building. The building opened “I have come to the conclusion that the
in 1934 next to Loke Yew Hall on the good reputation of the University Medical
main HKU campus and later, in 1956, it School is built upon the carefulness of
was renamed Digby Memorial Building Professor Digby’s clinical teaching. His
in his honour. Digby also oversaw the professional reputation as a surgeon is
relocation of clinical teaching to the new very high also.”
Queen Mary Hospital, which opened - HKU Vice-Chancellor Duncan Sloss,
in 1937 as the main acute hospital on 27 February 1939 -
Hong Kong Island and was, at the time,
the best hospital in the Far East. HKU
surgery set up its base on the second floor
Department of Surgery 110 Anniversary | 43
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