(Hong Kong, 2 December 2009) Following the establishment of the first after-quake Rehabilitation, Prosthetic and Orthotic Centre, jointly operated by Hong Kong Red Cross and the Deyang Disabled Persons’ Federation at Deyang City, Sichuan in July 2008, another Rehabilitation Centre (the Centre) with two outdoor Rehabilitation Gardens (the Gardens) built by the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) was officially opened this afternoon in the Wenchuan County People’s Hospital The Centre will provide comprehensive rehabilitation service to the affected communities of the 5.12 Sichuan Earthquake. Mr Wang Yang, Party Secretary of Guangdong Province,, Mr Liu Qibao, Party Secretary of Sichuan Province, together with Mrs Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei, HKRC President, , Mrs Patricia Ling, Deputy Chairman, Lady Wu, Director, Ms Christine Fang, Vice Chairman of International & Relief Service Management Committee, Dr Poon Tak-lun, Member of International & Relief Service Management Committee, along with four professors of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and two representatives from corporate donor Hopewell Holdings Limited, officiated the opening ceremony and joined the tree- planting activities.
Located within the Wenchuan County People’s Hospital, the Centre occupies an area of 1,400 square meters. It offers one-stop rehabilitation service including free consultation, testing, production, installment, trial, rehabilitation, repair and maintenance services, etc to the disabled in the county. And the two outdoor Rehabilitation Gardens - Cheer Garden and Joy Garden, covering an area of 400 square meters, are the first of its kind in the Mainland. The natural environment of the Gardens combines with the rehabilitation training facilities and offers a relaxing and comfortable environment for treatment and training. HKRC will deploy medical personnel, orthopaedists as well as other medical specialists to provide medical consultation to Centre patients. Apart from technical support, HKRC will also dedicate to provide relevant trainings to local medical practitioners.
Mrs Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei, President of the HKRC said, “Today, the commencement of the operation of both Wenchuan Rehabilitation Centre and Rehabilitation Gardens is not simply an extension of HKRC’s services from its Rehabilitation, Prosthetic and Orthotic Centre at Deyang, but also a good start of our services in Wenchuan County. The HKRC would strive to provide quality rehabilitation and prosthesis installation services through these centres.”
HKRC’s first Rehabilitation Centre in Deyang has provided holistic rehabilitation services for nearly 1,000 disabled caused by the earthquake since its establishment in July 2008. And the second centre is set up inside the Wenchuan County People’s Hospital that the hospital is another major quake project in Sichuan jointly rebuilt by HKRC and the Guangdong Provincial Government and completed in November this year. The HKRC contributed RMB46million to the construction of the hospital buildings and installation of the medical equipments. The Hospital covers a total area of 20,000 square meters, its complex includes a five-storey medical and outpatient service building and a four-storey hospital ward building with 200 beds, targeting at serving 100,000 inhabitants in the surrounding areas.
Mrs Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei visiting HKRC’s Wenchuan Rehabilitation Centre to understand the centre's operation and the physiotherapy treatment process.
Mrs Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei visiting a patient who is undergoing occupational therapy. She is inspecting how the patient is using equipments to practice balancing and eye-foot coordination.
The Rehabilitation Gardens simulates the real living condition in countryside with rocky pavement and slopes, aiming to provide more practical rehabilitation training to patients.
Group photo of Party Secretary of Guangdong Province Wang Yang (middle), Party Secretary of Sichuan Province Liu Qibao (second on the left), HKRC President Mrs Selina Tsang Pou Siu-mei and HKRC Director Lady Wu after visiting the Rehabilitation Gardens.
The officiating guests participating the tree-planting activity.
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