142 | Employment
of the retail and catering industries as well as relevant professional bodies to promote preventive measures for work-related leg disorders.
The department also collaborated with the OSHC, the Construction Industry Council, and relevant employers' associations and workers' unions to step up publicity on heat stroke prevention through promotional visits to construction workers, professional drivers and other outdoor high-risk workplaces, promotion of methods for risk assessment of heat stroke and effective measures for preventing heat stroke.
Occupational Health Clinics
The Labour Department provides occupational health services to workers at its occupational health clinics in Kwun Tong and Fanling. Together they held some 13 200 clinical consultations with workers during the year.
Occupational Safety and Health Council
The Occupational Safety and Health Council is charged with promoting a culture of occupational safety and health in Hong Kong. It provides training, consultancy, research and information services to achieve this goal.
During the year, 1 749 courses on occupational safety and health were held, attended by 41 917 trainees. Opened in August, the Occupational Safety and Health Academy aims at building a solid foundation for promoting a safety culture. It is equipped with facilities including interactive classrooms, different types of training sites and simulated environments for work and training exercises.
Large-scale infrastructure projects pose challenges to efforts in maintaining workers' safety and health. The council has strengthened its safety promotional and educational initiatives targeting these projects. As a result of an increasing number of accidents occurring at RMAA works sites, the council launched a series of campaigns to enhance safety awareness among workers, contractors and estate owners. The council also joined forces with the Housing Authority to manage two schemes called 'independent Safety Audit Scheme for Maintenance and Improvement Works Contracts' and 'Surprise
'Surprise Safety Inspection Programme' to enhance contractors' safety performance.
The council has been providing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with financial support and technical advice for procurement of safety equipment through a number of SME sponsorship schemes. During the year, the council worked with the Social Welfare Department to launch a scheme to prevent accidents occurring in the handling of electric hoists for patients in residential care homes.
The council staged an occupational health day and presented awards annually to encourage industries to pay greater attention to occupational health. A new category on work-stress management was added to the year's awards.
Internet and multi-media tools were used more extensively. New educational materials on safety were developed for secondary school teachers. The council's bi-monthly magazine Green Cross is available in electronic version for free.