ENG-1999 — Page 229

HEALTH

particularly among the young, and to support community-wide programmes against drug abuse. During the year, 48 successful applications were allocated $17.78 million, including $4.9 million for treatment and rehabilitation projects and $12.88 million for preventive education and publicity programmes. The first large scale review on the effectiveness of the Beat Drugs Fund in furthering the anti-drug cause of Hong Kong was conducted with a series of improvement proposals made. Invitations for the fifth tranche of applications to the fund started in November.

Auxiliary Medical Service

(AMS) is

The Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) is a government-financed volunteer organisation with an establishment of 5 258 volunteer members supported by a complement of 103 civil servants. Its main role is to augment regular medical, health and ambulance services in times of natural disasters and emergencies, as well as to supplement regular medical services in non-emergency situations.

Its operational staff and volunteer members have received training in disaster management, paramedic work, casualty evacuation, life saving and home nursing. To enhance operational efficiency, senior AMS staff and members also attend local and overseas disaster management/medicine courses or conferences. In 1999, one officer received paramedic training in Canada, one officer received disaster medical training in Australia and two officers attended a disaster management course in Thailand. A Disaster Medical Assistant Training programme was conducted to improve the quality of emergency medical care at disaster scenes. There are 54 contact hours in this programme covering mainly the areas of disaster nursing and psychology, as well as emergency care and evacuation. AMS members are expected to complete it on a part-time basis within three years.

The AMS provides first aid and paramedic training to public officers, mainly from the disciplined services which may be required to provide first aid treatment to the public. In addition, it designs tailor-made training modules to suit individual government departments' operational needs. First aid training is also offered to special target groups such as school teachers. Following the commencement of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations in 1997, there has been an upsurge in the demand for basic first aid training in both the public and private sectors. In 1999, the AMS conducted first aid training for 10 106 civil servants and qualified 153 persons in the private sector as first aiders.

The AMS launched a Youth Ambassador Scheme in 1997 with the aim of instilling in youths aged from 10 to 15 a sense of citizenship and guiding them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. In 1999, 750 youths joined this valuable scheme and took part in a series of life skills training programmes, community services and recreational activities organised by the AMS.

Other services provided by the AMS to the general public included first aid coverage at country parks, cycle tracks, school activities and major public functions; advice on the provision of first aid facilities in work places; paramedical assistance at- scene by the Emergency Response Task Force; non-emergency ambulance transfer service for patients requiring assistance and daily manning of 21 methadone clinics. In 1999, the AMS was also actively involved in the promotion of home safety and first-aid knowledge to the general public through a series of programmes such as health talks, home visits and large-scale hill fires prevention campaigns. In order to

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