10 Nov 2011
To enhance Hong Kong's preparedness for management of emergencies, especially those involving mass fatalities, the Department of Health (DH) has invited a delegation from New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (NYCCMEO) to come for experience sharing, particularly on their lessons learnt from managing the 9.11 incident.
"To kick off, the systems and plans of New York City and Hong Kong for response to major emergencies involving mass fatalities were presented for exchange and discussions by officials of the two cities during a two-day symposium completed yesterday (November 9)," a DH spokesman reveals.
"Today, the New York City delegation will be meeting with some of the stakeholders and also visit facilities of the Hong Kong Police Force and DH," the spokesman continues.
The subscription for the November 8 and 9 symposium was overwhelming, with a full house attendance of some 350 local and overseas participants. A number of disciplines were represented, with bereavement support, body disposal, disaster victim identification, emergency medicine, maintenance of civil order, medico-legal death investigation, public health and search and rescue professionals included.
In the opening, the Director of Health, Dr P Y Lam remarks that the world is facing increasing threats of natural disasters, epidemics, conflicts and violence which can impose much devastating effects on human health. Dr Lam stresses that multi-disciplinary collaboration in preparedness and capacity building are two of the keys for cost-effective and efficient response during major fatal emergencies.
Six speakers from NYCCMEO's Special Operational Response Team as well as local experts from the Security Bureau, the Hospital Authority and DH delivered talks and responded to participants' enquiries during the symposium.
"The programme is the first of its kind in Hong Kong and has accomplished the objective set. It provides a forum for first-person comments on positive and negative lessons learnt and how best to get prepare for emergencies and management of mass fatalities in modern times. Together with our other activities like field epidemiology training and periodic crisis drills, we are striving to attain and maintain ourselves in the best of shape to safeguard Hong Kong's public health," the spokesman concludes.