Off Beat

Psychological Services Group
opens homely new office

ACP (Personnol) Yam Tat-wing (centre) opens the new PSG office with the assistance of Senior Police Clinical Psychologist Eddie Li and CSP PS Martin Samson THE new Kowloon office of the Psychological Services Group has opened, providing a snug and relaxing atmosphere for officers.
The Yau Ma Tei facility was formally opened on April 23 with a ceremony officiated by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Personnel) Yam Tat-wing and Chief Superintendent (Personnel Services) Martin Samson.

Two Police Clinical Psychologists, Dr Edmond Lau and Ms Joan Chan, will serve full time at the office which also features comfortable decor to help Force members relax and feel at ease while having their consultation.
The interviewing and function rooms at the new office all have a warm atmosphere, enabling Force members to talk with psychologists in a more informal way.
"We have a relaxation room equipped with a massage chair, TV, hi-fi and video recorder which will facilitate the relaxation process," Ms Chan said.
"This office provides convenience for officers from Kowloon and the New Territories."
Ms Chan further emphasised that all psychological consultations were confidential.
"We hope that Force members will relax and feel like they are at home when they have consultations here, especially when they come with their families."
The office is situated at: 22/F, Ocean Building, 80 Shanghai Street, Kowloon (C2 Exit of Jordan MTR station). For enquiries and appointments, please call 2735-3739 or fax 2735-7236.

Shot in the arm for mainland medics

YUNNAN'S medics are now qualified to instruct others in first aid thanks to a week-long training course conducted by experts from the Hong Kong Police.
Some 53 doctors and nurses from the Yunnan Emergency Centre in the province's capital Kunming attended the week-long course which started on March 15.
It was conducted by three officers from the First Aid Training Division of the Training Wing, and was the first time Force members were invited to hold a first aid training course for mainland medics in Putonghua.
The trainers, Acting Chief Inspector Stephen Ma Chak-wa, Acting Station Sergeant Ngai Chi-yuen and Sergeant Wong Kim-lun, are all qualified first aid instructors and well-experienced in training Hong Kong's police officers.

SGT Wong (top) and ASSGT Ngai demonstrate first aid techniques

The course comprised of training on Basic Life Support/Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation, choking management, immobilisation of neck injuries, application of cervical collars, spinal boards, automated external defibrillation and airway management skills.
Participants were briefed on theories and application of internationally recognised first aid skills. They practised on newly-purchased first aid equipment and all had to pass an examination at the end of the course to become qualified trainers.
Having passed, the Centre's medics were able to host their own first aid training programme for their staff in preparation for the throng of tourists visiting the Kunming 1999 International Horticultural Exposition which started on May 1. It will run for six months.
Mr Ma said although the three-man team had limited time to prepare for the course, it was well received by their mainland counterparts.
He said the experience was not only educational for the students but for himself and the other instructors also.
"By conducting this training course in Yunnan, we now have a better understanding of pre-hospital care on the mainland," Mr Ma said.
"Unlike the practice in Hong Kong where patients would be handled by Police or ambulance officers who were usually the first to an accident scene, pre-hospital care was solely performed by doctors and nurses from mainland emergency centres."
A delegation from the Yunnan Emergency Centre visited the Police Training School last November, along with the St. John Ambulance Association and the Fire Services Department Ambulance Training School. It was after that trip trainers from the Force were invited to help organise the "Train the Trainers" course.

Seminars on child abuse detection
HERE'S a great opportunity to learn more about infant and child fatalities due to abuse and neglect.
In order to enhance police officers' knowledge of child deaths, the Force Child Protection Policy Unit, the Social Welfare Department and the Hospital Authority will hold a series of seminars.
From Monday May 24 to Sunday May 30, 9 am to 5 pm, seminars will be held on the eighth floor, Block G, Princess Margaret Hospital, Kowloon.
The seminar is to raise awareness of infant and child fatalities due to abuse and neglect and their impact on victims and their families.
It will update medical professionals with the knowledge and skills in diagnosis, treatment and aftercare of victims.
It will also equip police officers with the knowledge and skills in handling cases involving infant and child fatalities with specific reference to the Police role in child protection and crime prevention, dynamics of fatal child abuse, interview of witnesses, interrogation of suspects, gathering evidence at crime scenes, and preparation for court proceedings.
Speakers will include: Professor James Garbarino, professor of human development at Cornell University in the United States; Dr Dirk Huyer, physician with the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Programme at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada; and Lieutenant Bill Walsh, of the Dallas Police Department, who commands its Investigations Section which includes the Child Abuse, Child Exploitation, and Family Violence units.
Police officers, medical professionals, social workers and clinical psychologists are invited and all seminars will be conducted in English.
Interested parties can inquire and enrol with your formation commanders or contact WSIP Elaine Cheung of the Child Protection Policy Unit at 2804-1435.