The prestigious First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University launched a division hospital recently in Nansha district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, which is anticipated to serve both local people and those from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

The hospital aims to build its Nansha division into a hub for public health emergency, world-class precision medicine, training of leading talent and high-level international cooperation, said Xiao Haipeng, president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, at the opening ceremony.

With a helicopter landing facility in place, a dock to be built close by, onboard computerized tomography scanners and mobile intensive care units, the Nansha division will be able to serve the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in rescue and treatment in a quick manner, he said.

The Nansha division has 1,500 beds and includes a 33,000-square-meter international medical center. Its 5,100 meter-long railed logistics system covers over 90 units in the hospital.

Automatic guided vehicles run along the wide passages in the hospital to move materials.

The Nansha division operates centers for disinfection, testing, pathologic diagnosis, radiotherapy and medical imaging, which can serve institutions in the GBA.

It also has a 1,000-square-meter international robotic surgery training center, which can help train medical personnel.

The State Council issued a plan last year for the development of Nansha that requires medical and elderly services be provided for Hong Kong and Macao residents.

To facilitate medical services to people from Hong Kong and Macao, discussions among governments are underway and the Nansha division is expected to become a pilot hospital in this respect.

As a designated hospital for the "Hong Kong and Macao medicine and medical device network," the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University is widely welcomed by Hong Kong people living on the mainland, said John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of Hong Kong, in a video message to the ceremony.

"The Nansha division will provide more convenient and accessible healthcare to Hong Kong people living on the mainland. It will be a great addition to the improvement of medical capacity in the GBA," he said.

It is set to become an important platform for cooperation in medicine among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, he said.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University will continue to deepen the cooperation with the over 60 overseas universities and medical institutions for high-quality research, Xiao said.