HK team tries to fill gap in rehab and counselling services

The long-term care and psychological well-being of injured earthquake victims are the prime concerns for the Hong Kong Red Cross, which has opened a Prosthetic and Orthopaedic Centre in Deyang , one of the quake-hit cities in Sichuan .

Peter Tsang Wing-hon, a prosthesis specialist at the centre, said some patients might have left hospital before their wounds were totally healed. 'Some may feel unhappy when staying at a hospital outside their home province. Another reason is that the hospitals simply do not have enough money to run long-term rehabilitation services,' said Dr Tsang.

Many patients returning to Sichuan after receiving treatment outside the province are also struggling to find a place to have regular check-ups.

This is a particular problem for amputees with new prosthetic limbs, who need constant assessments in the first three months after the prosthesis is fitted to gauge its suitability.

Unlike in Hong Kong, where patients would have regular follow-up checks after being discharged from hospital, there is no such system on the mainland, said Wilson Wong Mok-fai, deputy secretary general of the Hong Kong Red Cross, during a recent visit to the Deyang centre.

The centre is funded and operated by the Hong Kong Red Cross in co-operation with the Deyang Disabled Persons Federation, and Mr Wong said they hoped the centre would act as a model for other mainland organisations to follow.

The centre is running on a five-year basis with a 50 million yuan (HK$57.07 million) grant.