The operator of the Precious Blood Hospital in Sham Shui Po said on Thursday that the institution will remain non-profit making despite its decision to partner up with a private medical group to expand services.

Catholic charity Caritas said it will work with Parkway Medical Services to redevelop and expand the 87-year-old hospital.

Dr Joseph Lui, director of medical services at Caritas, said the hospital will remain a Catholic institution, upholding its religious values and mission to serve the local community and the needy.

Dr Kenneth Tsang, CEO of Parkway, said new services at the hospital will focus on meeting the needs of the growing elderly population.

"Because the community, not just for Sham Shui Po but for the whole of Hong Kong, is becoming more and more of an elderly population. More than 20 percent of our population is elderly," he said.

"So the focus of the hospital will really be on what the people of Hong Kong need. The 20 percent of people who are old, they may have eye problems, they may have ear problems, they may have problems related to the deterioration of age. So those are all the areas that we're going to focus on in the hospital."

The hospital was established by the Sisters of the Precious Blood during the Second World War to provide medical care to the sick and injured.