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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):-Ladies and Gentlemen, the meeting is called to order.
MINUTES
The minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 1983 were confirmed.
STATEMENT BY CHAIRMAN
CHAIRMAN (in Cantonese):--
Courtesy to members of the public is a priority. Together with other Government departments, the Urban Services Department, which is the executive arm of the Urban Council, continues to strive for the highest standard of personal conduct and courtesy when dealing with members of the public.
Departmental staff are urged to be courteous in speech and manner, and to be polite and helpful at all times when approached by a member of the public. They have been reminded that they are representatives of the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department and of Government in general. As much as possible, members of the public should not be kept waiting unnecessarily when calling at an Urban Services Department office to request information or to obtain service.
It would be reasonable to assume that if Urban Services Department staff are polite to individual members of the public, such individuals would also be polite to them. There may be exceptions, of course, where a few members of the public may be aggressive or inconsiderate, but departmental staff, by reason of their training and experience, are expected to handle the situation carefully.
I believe that, by and large, Urban Services Department staff are generally responsible, polite, and helpful to the public. Should there be any individual cases where members of the public feel that they are not being treated courteously or correctly, I hope they will write to the Department, giving full details. I can assure them that their letters will be carefully investigated for whatever action is found necessary.
PAPER
(Mr. Edmund CHOW arrived during the Chairman's address.)
The following paper was laid on the table:—
(1) Report to the Urban Council by the Director of Urban Services and Secretary, Urban Council, for the month of October 1983.
QUESTIONS
1. MR. HOWARD H. W. YOUNG asked the following question (in English):- What has been the record of fatal and non-fatal swimming incidents on beaches and swimming pools this season, and how does this compare with the previous two seasons?
MR. KENNETH T. C. Lo, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE replied as follows (in English): This question asks what the record of fatal and non-fatal swimming incidents has been at beaches and swimming pools this season and how it compares with the previous two seasons.
The full record of swimming incidents at urban beaches and swimming pools for the current season (up to end of September) has been separately tabled for Members' information. Statistics for the corresponding periods of the previous two seasons have also been included to facilitate comparison.
Happily, the number of drownings at gazetted urban beaches remains relatively small. This season there were four such cases and in 1982 and 1981 there were two and six respectively. At the pools, there was one fatality this year, none in 1982, and one in 1981. These figures indicate no particular trend but rather serve to remind us of the need to remain vigilant.
Proof that our lifeguards do remain vigilant is indicated by the fact that they made 237 rescues from the sea and 296 in the swimming pools this summer alone. These figures are down on last year; there is no obvious reason for this at the beaches, but at the pools, the reason must be simply because pool attendance was very significantly less than last year.
This reply would not be complete without some mention of other accidents at beaches and pools. These refer to incidents that do not involve rescue in water but do need a little more than simple first aid treatment, in some cases ambulance service. The figures for 1983, 152 for beaches and 169 for pools, again show no statistically reliable trend though they do represent a big drop over 1982.
The cumulative effect of all these statistics is to underline the fact that swimming is a very safe recreational pursuit provided the rules are followed; the number of rescues still suggests that the rules are breached fairly often, putting life at risk. Indeed, it is pertinent to point out that there has been one drowning incident in each year, 1981 to 1983, whilst the Red Flags have been flying. The fact remains that our lifeguards have, once again, done a first-class job.