On November 11th, Foshan First People's Hospital, formerly a British Methodist hospital, celebrated its 140th anniversary.
A few years ago, in a third-party survey of hospital service satisfaction organized by Guangdong Provincial Health Planning Commission, Foshan First People's Hospital stood out from 130 public general hospitals across the province, and topped the list with a decisive lead, becoming the undisputed champion of the province.
Few people know about the historical origin of Foshan First People's Hospital, whose predecessor was a missionary hospital - the Methodist Hospital of the British Methodist Church.
In 1860, British Methodist missionary Pastor George Piercy came to Foshan to build churches in two places. In April 1881, Charles Wenyon, a medical missionary, came with his family and opened a clinic in Gospel Church in Yongxing Street.
Then, Wenyon founded the "Guangji Clinic" in a large warehouse located in Gangwalan, Yingzuisha, and established the inpatient department, the predecessor of Foshan Methodist West Hospital.
At the beginning of the 20th century, western missionaries in China thought that "one of the most urgent needs at present is well-trained Chinese nurses and assistants" and "medical education is the most important job of medical missionaries at present". When Wenyon opened a clinic in Foshan, he recruited the first apprentice, Swedish Andersen, to teach him medicine preparation and surgery, and trained him as a pharmacist and surgeon. Since 1883, the clinic started enrollment and established a medical class with seven students for the first time. Students in the medical class received three years' training, including chemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and other medical courses, as well as clinical practice inwards. Over the course of about twenty to thirty years, more than 100 medical students graduated from the class.
Although Foshan Methodist Hospital was not as large as some large church hospitals in China, it adopted a completely western style in its management model, which laid a solid foundation for the subsequent development of the hospital and its endurance through the war.
First of all, the hospital stuck to the principle of self-reliance in operation from the very beginning, aiming at self-support. Patients admitted to the hospital were charged different fees according to their financial means, and the hospital also carried out some free medical services, such as free antenatal examinations for pregnant women and free treatment for the poor, while rich patients were charged higher medical expenses to make up for the losses incurred after the fee reduction for the poor.
Wenyon, the founder of the hospital, was not only an excellent doctor but also a missionary. When he was practising medicine in the hospital, he went to the ward every day to preach to patients and taught the Bible to everyone at night. The hospital would do morning and evening prayers every day and hold a large gathering every month. Doctors and nurses in the hospital also attended church and Bible study. Normally, there were eight religious activities a week. When doctors treated patients' diseases, they also brought the gospel to them. Some patients accepted the gospel and became Christians after they recovered from their illness.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Foshan Methodist Hospital was officially taken over by the Foshan Municipal Government in November 1953 and was renamed as the People's Hospital of Central Guangdong Administrative Office. In March 1984, the hospital changed to its present name: Foshan First People's Hospital. In 1991, the hospital was rated as the first First-class Hospital at Grade III (top grade in China) in Guangdong Province. In 2015, it once again became the first hospital in the province to pass the re-evaluation as the First-class Hospital at Grade III.
(Some material is quoted from Yan Xiaohua of Guangxi Normal University, Foshan Methodist Hospital and the Rise of Modern Western Medicine and the official website of Foshan First People's Hospital.)
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
11月11日，佛山市第一人民医院将迎来建院140周年。
这是一所很特殊的医院，前几年，在由广东省卫计委组织的全省医院服务满意度第三方调查中，佛山市第一人民医院，从全省130家公立综合医院中脱颖而出，以绝对高分荣登榜首，成为毫无争议的全省冠军。
很多人不知道的是佛山市第一人民医院的历史渊源。它的前身是一家教会医院——英国循道会循道医院。
1860 年，英国循道会传教士俾士牧师来到佛山，在两处地方兴建教堂。 1881 年4 月，医疗传教士查尔斯•云仁(Charles. wenyon)与家人前来，在永兴街福音堂开办了诊所。
接着，查尔斯•云仁在位于鹰咀沙缸瓦栏的一间大货仓内创办了“广济医局”，并且建立了住院部即以后的佛山循道西医院的前身。
20 世纪初，当时的西方来华传教士认为教会医院“现时最紧迫的需要之一即是受过良好训练的中国护士和助手”,“医学教育是医药传教士目前最为重要的工作”。云仁在佛山开办诊所时，招收了第一名学徒瑞典人安德逊，教其药剂的配制和外科手术，将后者训练成了一名药剂师和外科医师。“广济医局”从 1883 年开始，首次招收建立了有七名学生的医学班。医学班的学生需接受三年的培训，设置有化学、物理、解剖学、生理学、药物学及其他医学课程，还有到病房的临床实践。医学堂成立的二三十年里，先后共有 100 多位医学生毕业。
佛山循道医院在规模上虽然不及国内一些大的教会医院，但在管理模式上，它却是完全的西式管理，这为医院随后的发展并经受战争的洗礼打下了坚实的基础。
首先，从一开始医院在经营上就采取自立原则，以自养为目标。医院对收诊的病人根据各自的经济能力收取不同的诊金，同时开展一些免费医疗活动，如对孕妇实施免费产前检测，对穷人免费治疗，而对富有的病人收取较高的医药费用来贴补对穷人减免费用后所出现的亏损。
医院的创办者云仁既是一名优秀的医生，也是一位传教士。他在医院行医时，每天都到病房向病人传教，晚上还向所有人讲授圣经。每天医院都要做早课和晚祷，每月举行—次大型聚会。医院里面的医生和护士也要参加礼拜和圣经学习。一般情况下，医院一周有八次宗教活动。医生在医治病人疾病的时候，也把福音带给后者。一些病人在疾病痊愈以后，同时也接受了福音成为了基督徒。
新中国成立以后，1953年11月，佛山循道医院正式由佛山市人民政府接管，改名为广东省粤中行署人民医院。1984年3月，医院更名为现在的名称：佛山市第一人民医院。1991年，医院被评为广东省首家三级甲等医院。2015年，再次成为全省首家通过三甲复评医院。
（部分文献资料引用广西师范大学颜小华《佛山循道医院与近代西医业的兴起》以及佛山市第一人民医院官方网站）
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佛山市第一人民医院建院140周年 曾荣获广东省满意度冠军 前身乃英国循道会循道医院
On November 11th, Foshan First People's Hospital, formerly a British Methodist hospital, celebrated its 140th anniversary.
A few years ago, in a third-party survey of hospital service satisfaction organized by Guangdong Provincial Health Planning Commission, Foshan First People's Hospital stood out from 130 public general hospitals across the province, and topped the list with a decisive lead, becoming the undisputed champion of the province.
Few people know about the historical origin of Foshan First People's Hospital, whose predecessor was a missionary hospital - the Methodist Hospital of the British Methodist Church.
In 1860, British Methodist missionary Pastor George Piercy came to Foshan to build churches in two places. In April 1881, Charles Wenyon, a medical missionary, came with his family and opened a clinic in Gospel Church in Yongxing Street.
Then, Wenyon founded the "Guangji Clinic" in a large warehouse located in Gangwalan, Yingzuisha, and established the inpatient department, the predecessor of Foshan Methodist West Hospital.
At the beginning of the 20th century, western missionaries in China thought that "one of the most urgent needs at present is well-trained Chinese nurses and assistants" and "medical education is the most important job of medical missionaries at present". When Wenyon opened a clinic in Foshan, he recruited the first apprentice, Swedish Andersen, to teach him medicine preparation and surgery, and trained him as a pharmacist and surgeon. Since 1883, the clinic started enrollment and established a medical class with seven students for the first time. Students in the medical class received three years' training, including chemistry, physics, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and other medical courses, as well as clinical practice inwards. Over the course of about twenty to thirty years, more than 100 medical students graduated from the class.
Although Foshan Methodist Hospital was not as large as some large church hospitals in China, it adopted a completely western style in its management model, which laid a solid foundation for the subsequent development of the hospital and its endurance through the war.
First of all, the hospital stuck to the principle of self-reliance in operation from the very beginning, aiming at self-support. Patients admitted to the hospital were charged different fees according to their financial means, and the hospital also carried out some free medical services, such as free antenatal examinations for pregnant women and free treatment for the poor, while rich patients were charged higher medical expenses to make up for the losses incurred after the fee reduction for the poor.
Wenyon, the founder of the hospital, was not only an excellent doctor but also a missionary. When he was practising medicine in the hospital, he went to the ward every day to preach to patients and taught the Bible to everyone at night. The hospital would do morning and evening prayers every day and hold a large gathering every month. Doctors and nurses in the hospital also attended church and Bible study. Normally, there were eight religious activities a week. When doctors treated patients' diseases, they also brought the gospel to them. Some patients accepted the gospel and became Christians after they recovered from their illness.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Foshan Methodist Hospital was officially taken over by the Foshan Municipal Government in November 1953 and was renamed as the People's Hospital of Central Guangdong Administrative Office. In March 1984, the hospital changed to its present name: Foshan First People's Hospital. In 1991, the hospital was rated as the first First-class Hospital at Grade III (top grade in China) in Guangdong Province. In 2015, it once again became the first hospital in the province to pass the re-evaluation as the First-class Hospital at Grade III.
(Some material is quoted from Yan Xiaohua of Guangxi Normal University, Foshan Methodist Hospital and the Rise of Modern Western Medicine and the official website of Foshan First People's Hospital.)
- Translated by Oliver Zuo
Formerly a British Methodist Hospital, Foshan First People's Hospital Marks 140 Years
