Sham Shui Po Public Dispensary, Grade II historic methadone clinic in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong.
Sham Shui Po Public Dispensary is a two-story medical facility located on Yee Kuk Street that provides treatment services to residents in the district. The building dates from the 1930s and continues to operate as a methadone clinic managed by healthcare authorities.
The building was constructed in the 1930s to address a shortage of medical facilities in the growing community. In 1972, the facility was transformed to provide methadone treatment as part of a government treatment program.
The name Yee Kuk Street comes from the dispensary itself: "Yee Kuk" (醫局) means medical bureau, and the street was named after the clinic. The building's facade still carries the inscription "深水埔公立醫局", using 深水埔, the older form of the district name 深水埗. From 1911 the dispensary operated inside the Tin Hau Temple before moving here.
The clinic occupies a two-storey building at 137 Yee Kuk Street, on a site of over 1,000 square metres; the entrance and enquiry counter are on the lower floor, while staff rest rooms are upstairs. Yee Kuk Street itself is named after the dispensary, which stood in Tin Hau Temple before the street was laid out. It is an operating clinic, so visits are limited to the exterior.
The name carved on the facade reads "深水埔公立醫局", using 埔 rather than the modern 埗 — a spelling of the district's name that has since fallen out of use. The building was funded by the merchant Wong Yiu-tung and designed by the local firm Chau & Lee Architects.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,755 contributors worldwide.