2002/2003

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Mission, Vision and Our Commitment
Mission
To provide Services and Opportunities to facilitate the Equal Participation of People with Visual Impairment in Hong Kong.

Vision 
For our Clients

To enable our clients to develop their maximum potential and participate equally in all facets of life through the provision of quality services, the use of appropriate adaptive technologies and equipment, and meeting of their needs on an individual basis.

For the Community

To promote equal opportunities and raise the community’s awareness of the needs and potential of people with visual impairment.

For our Staff

To equip our staff with the latest knowledge and skills in the provision of services, and to encourage creativity, innovativeness and interdisciplinary cooperaion.

For Government and other Non-Governmental Organizations

To maintain close liaison with Government and non-governmental organizations, both in Hong Kong and overseas in order to ensure cooperation among agencies, the introduction and development of services and the efficient deployment of resources.

Our Commitment 
1. Competence 
We are committed to provide our services with the best knowledge and skills, adhering to the highest ethical and professional standards, utilizing the most appropriate technology and equipment available.

2. Clients First 
We are committed to put the benefits of our clients as our first priority, whose needs should be met individually in a sincere, timely and efficient manner.

3. Community Involvement 
We are committed to involve the community at large to further equal opportunities and participation for people with visual impairment.

4. Continual Development 
We are committed to continue to develop innovative services and strive for service excellence to meet the needs of people with visual impairment.

 

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Chairman's Foreword 
The Hong Kong Society for the Blind was founded in 1956 at a time when Hong Kong was a very different place from the SAR we know today. Large numbers of people were homeless, education was basic and social services were at best frugal, and at worst non-existent. In the 1950’s, the people of Hong Kong were poor but self-reliant, and at that time the Society had to rely very heavily on contributions from overseas, and particularly from the United Kingdom, Germany and the USA. In those days, they joined with us to try to help create a better tomorrow.

The tomorrow of the 1950’s is the today of the first decade of the millennium. How have things changed? Firstly, Hong Kong is, despite short term economic and political problems, stable and financially sound. Secondly, we have broad-based systems of, inter alia, housing, education, health and welfare. Thirdly, the people have become more and more dependent on the Government, so that what used to be thought of as privileges are now regarded as matters of right.

How have these changes both material and philosophical affected the Society? Firstly, we do not have to rely on overseas aid. On the contrary, Hong Kong is now in a position where it can offer aid to others. Secondly, the people expect Hong Kong to provide good services, so that the Society is expected to provide its services not only cost-effectively but efficiently and in accordance with the demands and wishes of our many clients. Thirdly, what services used to be provided on an under-funded, sporadic basis are now largely provided on a planned, paid, professional basis. Our staff are highly trained, and this is reflected in the high quality of their work. Fourthly, we need to be proactive - reaching out into the community to find ever more needs and to devise ways of meeting those needs.

What things haven’t changed? Firstly, the requirement of any civilized society, that the able should support the disabled. The Society has a fine record in this respect, and it continues to provide its services to its clients to the best of its ability. Secondly, the need for volunteers will never diminish. We have been deeply indebted to all who have volunteered their time and expertise in the past, and we look forward to their continued commitment in the future. Services for the visually impaired, and particularly for the multi-handicapped visually impaired are necessarily staff intensive. Volunteers can make the difference between the Society being able to offer a broad-based, well-managed service, and a service which has to be limited for safety and other reasons.

However, the partnership of the 1950’s between the Society and overseas agencies and certain local donors for the support of the blind in Hong Kong has become a partnership between the Society, the Government, the Jockey Club, the Community Chest and our many local donors and supporters in support of the visually impaired in Hong Kong and throughout Asia. What has changed is that Hong Kong has become a focal point in Asia for training, for conferences and for seminars, on visual impairment. Such a change could only have been achieved as a result of the work of the Chief Executive, Grace Chan, and her staff over many years. Reputations are not built in a matter of months. It takes years, even decades, of patient, committed purposeful work for the Society to have reached its present level of achievement and for its reputation to have blossomed.

So, I should like to thank the members of the Society’s Council and its Committees for their hard work achieved particularly during the time Hong Kong was ravaged by SARS. We all owe a debt of gratitude: to Grace Chan and her dedicated staff for another year’s committed work in very difficult circumstances; our volunteers for their cheerfulness and major contribution; to our donors and supporters for their generosity of time and money; to our legal advisers and auditors for their professionalism; and to all others who have by word or deed helped the Society and the visually impaired.

Let us all join together to create an even better tomorrow.

Clive Oxley 
Chairman

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Director's Report

This fiscal year has been one of the most challenging years the Society has experienced in its 47 years of history. Staff have to put in extra efforts in addition to the already strenuous work demand due to the implementation of Enhanced Productivity Programme and Lump Sum Grant subvention system. We have to create a safe environment for our services and at the same time, maintain the confidence of our clients so that they would not stop to receive the services they need.

The SARS epidemic that broke out in March, 2003 affected the income-generating services and its effect will continue to be felt in the coming fiscal year. Many patients cancelled their appointments with the General Eye & Low Vision Centre and the Health Massage and Treatment Centre. The burden was especially heavy for staff of the residential services, who had to be kept at the highest level of alert at all times to prevent infection of the disease among the residents. I am happy to say that with the dedicated work of the Society's staff and the help of many donors, organisations and volunteers, the Society has completed this most challenging year with good results.

During the year under review, there were exciting developments in all services divisions. Financially, the Society was able to contribute to the Lump Sum Grant Reserve Fund so that when the tide over grant ended at the close of financial year 2005/06, we would be able to retain the more experienced staff to upkeep our quality of services. On service quality, the management continued to ensure that our services fully complied with the Service Quality Standards (SQS) set by the Social Welfare Department.

 
We completed the performance pledge of the Society and the various departments. Our mission, vision, and promises to our clients were clearly and objectively stated. The third Five Year Programme Plan was accomplished with fruitful achievements. The fourth Five Year Programme Plan is from 2002 to 2007. We would continue to oversee the implementation and progress of the various objectives and business improvement projects as laid down by the various departments in the programme plan. Emphasis was put on service areas such as development of the low vision service, barrier free access for the disabled, vocational training and employment. I am glad to report that significant progress was made in all these areas.

During the year under review, we acted as one of the chief advocates on barrier free access for people with visual impairment. The Society had registered with the Architectural Services Department (ASD) as Registered Supplier and Contractor for tactile products. The Consultancy Service Unit of the Research and Development Division and the Factory for the Blind jointly made a presentation of Barrier Free Design to architects and contractors organized by the ASD. We were in the process of designing new tactile maps with enhanced audio functions and would promote its usage in the territory. 

 

The sponsorship of a part-time visually impaired computer instructor, and the support from the Social Welfare Department, had enabled us to provide computer and information technology training to hundreds of people with visual impairment. The commencement of the operation of the new multi-sensory training room of the Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel, together with the deployment of the para-medical team, provided an optimal environment for our trainees to develop the sensory motor functioning ability of the mentally retarded cum visually impaired persons in a relaxed and safe atmosphere. The publication of the first training manual on tactual sign language, the release of the CD ROM, and the corresponding training workshops were a breakthrough in services to people with visual cum hearing impairment in Hong Kong.

 

The relocation of the Centralized Braille Production Centre from the ground floor to the first floor of the old headquarters building streamlined the Centre's operation, and provided a more spacious environment for the staff and machinery. The digital voice talking book project launched by the Communication Department would allow our members real time access to the needed talking books and other digital information through computer or telephone lines, immensely increasing their access to information.

 

 

To better reflect the proactive nature of our expanding Society and the nature of job tasks of the senior management, the Council of the Society approved a change in titles with effect from January 2003. The title of the Director is changed to Chief Executive and the four Division Heads to Director of their respective Divisions; e.g. Division Head (Finance and Administration) was changed to Director of the Finance and Administration Division. In addition, as the Society had become a rather large organization, there was a need to have a more defined organisational structure. It was expected that the change of title would further facilitate our liaison with outside organisations.

 

Although the SARS epidemic had considerable impact on the operation of some of the Society's services and also the Hong Kong community in general, it helped, at the same time, to show the resilient and benevolent quality of Hong Kong citizens. The Chinese idiom that "Passion is exhibited through adversity" was demonstrated in the Hong Kong community. In the combat with the SARS epidemic outbreak, the frontline medical workers demonstrated their professionalism and commitment to the well-being of persons under their care. To show our appreciation of their dedication, the Society, in collaboration with the Hong Kong College of Ophthalmologists, would organize a fund-raising film premiere with an aim to raise $500,000 as donation towards the welfare fund for the frontline medical workers. At the time of writing this report, the above fund raising target had been achieved.

The above progresses were made possible because of the tremendous assistance that we had received from the many donors, volunteers, organizations and government departments during the year. Our achievements represented the culmination of passion, love, care and devotion of the Hong Kong community, which was evident in the following detailed departmental reports.

The Hong Kong community is renowned for her perseverance, charity and innovation. We survived the SARS and kept focusing on our goals to improving and designing new services to meet the needs of our visually impaired clients. The SARS epidemic is now in recess. Instead of sitting back and relax, it is time that we should take a more proactive approach. I appeal to all of you that you would give us feedback on possible services improvements and contribute your available time, resources and gifts in creating a better tomorrow for all people with disabilities.

Pagodas are built by cumulating grains of sand, and every drop of sand counts. Your contribution is an important impetus in the creation of a better society. Through consolidating and cumulating our resources, I firmly believe that Hong Kong will continue to shine as the pearl of the region, through our passion and our care for people with special needs.

 

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Finance & Administration Division
General Financial Situation

 

The Society recorded a surplus of $2,994,629 at the financial year end mainly contributed by savings in Tide-Over Grant and funds raised by organizing a Flag Day which was held on 25 January 2003. Pursuant to the requirements of the Statement of Standard Accounting Practice (SSAP) 34 which becomes effective for the year 2002/03, the Society has treated the unspent annual leave of staff at 31 March 2002 as prior year adjustments and made an additional provision of $1.5 million for the long service payment to the employees of the Society in accordance with the Employment Ordinance assuming a prudent scenario of the termination of employment and upon retirement of all staff. A new service unit - the "Mobile Massage Team" with a grant from the Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise Project was established on 1 December 2002 which registered a surplus of $54,732 during this year. The Society continues to be in a healthy financial situation with the cumulative unspent lump sum grant of two years at a total value of $4,409,612 which was kept at a Reserve for Lump Sum Grant in accordance with the requirement of the Social Welfare Services Lump Sum Grant Manual and the remaining were operational surplus of non-SWD supported units of $1,595,880 at the year end.

A Flag Day was successfully held to raise funds for supporting the operations of the General Eye and Low Vision Centre and the Parents Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children. The income was over $1.7 million whereas expenditure was $110,319, resulting in excess of income over expenditure of $1,602,116.

 

Accounts Department
The application to the Lotteries Fund for a Business Improvement Programme to replace the existing outdated Financial Management and Human Resources Management systems was approved in principle. We are now evaluating two different proposals submitted and the estimated project completion date will be in the financial year 2004/05. Different financial strategies of cost control, in particular, on Personal Emoluments were performed to cater for the impending financial hardship due to a 1.8% cut in SWD subvention in the financial year 2003/04, a total of 30% reduction of the Community Chest allocation for two years starting 2003/04, the failure to be allotted with a Flag Day in the year 2003/04 and the withdrawal of Tide-over Grant in 2006/07. In addition, in order to maintain better internal control over dues & fees such as cash collection of the General Eye and Low Vision Centre, surprise inspections of cash on hand at the reception counter and optical dispensing service are regularly conducted to ensure all collected fees matched with the computer records.

During the year, the Accounts Department is responsible for co-ordinating the banking of money collection bags for the flag day, donation boxes for public subscription at the Charity Concert and preparation of the required audited account as required by SWD.

 

Administration Department
For 2002/03, the Administration Department has arranged two talks to the staff of the Society. One was a fire prevention talk. The Administration Department has invited officers from the Shek Kip Mei Branch of the Fire Services Department to give a talk on Fire Prevention in May 2002 at the Headquarters Building. It attracted 35 staff from different departments of the Headquarters Building and Residential Service Division to attend.

Moreover, in order to enhance the awareness of our staff concerning occupational health and safety so that work injuries can be minimized, a registered nurse from the Labour Department's Occupational Medicine Division was invited to give a talk in June 2002 at the Headquarters Building. It comprised two sessions. The first session was on manual handling and prevention of back injuries while the second one about health hints on the use of visual display unit. A total of 128 staff members attended the talk.

In 2002/03 there were altogether 144 functions held in the two Assembly Halls. They included graduation ceremonies, birthday and Christmas parties, staff or annual meetings, ad hoc courses and some special programmes like holiday care services which all used the two halls as venues. The Department was responsible for the administration and all other support functions which included hall set-up, provision of proper visual and audio aids, air-conditioning and lighting.

The Department has arranged the repainting of the new logo of the Society onto the vans. Starting from December 2002, a total of seven Society's vans had been repainted with the new design. Apart from the Society's new logo, advertisements for the services of the General Eye & Low Vision Centre, the Health Massage and Treatment Centre and the Factory for the Blind were also highlighted so that our services could be promoted and made known to the general public.

Same as in previous years, the Department provided support to many of the major events of the Society. These included the Charity Concert for Eye Care Programme of Hong Kong in April 2002 which was organized together with the Lions Clubs International District 303, the "Climbing of Mount Tai by the blind" on the White Cane Day which was organized jointly with the Tai An School for the Blind from 13 to 17 October 2002, the 2003 Braille Calendar Drawing Competition Award Presentation Ceremony in December 2002 and the 2003 Flag Day which was held on 25 January 2003. On the occasion of the 53rd National Day Film show, staff of the Administration Department assisted in distributing tickets to all representatives from other social welfare agencies in Hong Kong.

With the unfortunate outbreak of SARS, the Department has coordinated/implemented many regular cleaning and preventive measures such as distributing face masks, purchasing of disposable hand towel, arranging additional floor and air-conditioning filter cleaning, placing sterilized carpet on main entrance and adding chlorine tablets into flush water tanks to minimize the chances of our visually impaired clients being infected by the disease.

 

 

During the year under review, the Department received over 850 visitors who came from different medical units, educational institutes, local and overseas organizations, elderly and voluntary groups. Honourable visitors, to name a few, included Mr. Larry Campbell, World President of the International Council for Education of people with Visual Impairment, representatives of the ITU Telecom Asia 2002's Spouse Programme, Taipei Blind Welfare Association, All China Women's Federation, Beijing Activity Centre for the Disabled and Beijing Service Centre for the Blind, Mr. Bernard Chan, Chairman of the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, Mr. Peter van Zuiden, as well as the representative of the Drs. Richard and Esther Lee Charitable Foundation. We hope that by showing visitors the various services of the Society, the general public would know more about the needs as well as the abilities of the visually impaired.

 

Factory for the Blind
Sales

The Factory's business in 2002/2003 achieved an average monthly sales amounting to $969,090. Total sales of the year increased from $11,266,852 in 2001/2002 to $11,629,088 in 2002/2003, representing a slight increase of 3%.

Regarding the individual Production Sections, only the Sewing Section recorded a decrease of 66% due to its downsizing. All other sections recorded increases ranging from 1.1% in Filing Tag Section to 64% in trading activities during 2002/2003.

Renovation of the Factory Building

Thanks to the Lotteries Fund, the Factory has obtained a grant in 2002/03 to renovate and repair the Factory which included building renovations, electrical, plumbing and drainage replacement works. This renovation also improved the heat resistance and leakage on the rooftop and the electrical safety by rewiring most machines on the ground floor. The renovation is scheduled to be completed by the end of July 2003.

 

Replacement of Light Goods Vehicle The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has kindly approved a grant of $140,000 for replacement of the light goods vehicle for the Factory. This new light goods van has enhanced the goods delivery efficiency and provided better service for small and medium- sized customers.

Braille/Tactile Products for Building/Public Facilities

Much efforts were spent in the preparation of a catalogue of braille/tactile products for buildings/public facilities for submission to the Architectural Services Department for insertion in their approved list (rate book) as one of the approved building material suppliers. Subsequently, a number of presentations were made to interested architects and contractors on our braille/tactile products. This enabled the Factory to bid for Guide Path Project and Tactile Map supply to buildings/public facilities.

Future Plans

We shall put more efforts in 2003/2004 to develop new product/services to increase the Factory's income and provide more job opportunities for our disabled workers. One of the new services we have secured is a two-year contract with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department for piano tuning services with effect from June 2003.

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Rehabilitation Division
Rehabilitation Centre
The aims and objectives of the Rehabilitation Centre are to provide comprehensive rehabilitation programme for visually impaired people aged 16 and above. Persons undertook the training would be better equipped with independent living skills. Two modes of training are provided, namely, centre- and community-based training, the latter being catered for those who could not come to the Centre for training because of health, transportation or other prevailing reasons.

New Service in Operation
With a grant of 2 million dollars from the Lotteries Fund, the renovation and furnishing of the Rehabilitation Centre (N.T.), Unit 119-122, Tip Ying House, Butterfly Estate, Tuen Mun, was completed. Miss Ophelia Chan, Assistant Director (Rehabilitation and Medical Services) of the Social Welfare Department, officiated at the auspicious Opening Ceremony of the Centre on 26 February 2003. Occupying just about 2000 sq. ft, the new Centre was equipped with comprehensive and up-to-date facilities to provide quality training for visually impaired persons in the New Territories, who would no longer need to take the troubles of coming to the Kowloon Centre.

 

The Centre played a major role in organising the Hong Kong and Tai An visually impaired persons’ Mount Tai historical activity from 13 to 17 October 2002 to celebrate the White Cane Day. Highlights of the activity were to exchange ideas and experiences with students of the Tai An School for the Blind in the Shandong Province, go up to the top of the Mount Tai together with blind students of the school as well as to visit historical monuments and tourist spots nearby, including the home of Confucious. The Hong Kong delegation consisted of 50 persons, 30 were visually impaired and the majority were trainees and blind staff of the Centre. Together with the visually impaired students from the Tai An School for The Blind, over 100 people participated in this activity. White Cane Day, 15 October, was originated in the United States of America in the 1930’s. The purposes were to encourage the visually impaired to develop and make use of independent travelling skills by using a white cane, advocate for the Right of Way of the visually impaired and educate the public on such a right.

The Centre was as active as ever in organising good social, recreational and educational programmes to enhance the well-being of the trainees. To let them keep up with the society, prior to the launching of the $10 note, the Centre organised a talk by inviting the staff of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to introduce and demonstrate the new banknotes.

Professional Services:
The Centre participated actively in meetings and projects especially those dealing with barrier free access for the visually impaired organised by government departments and transport operators, including the Transport Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, bus companies, etc. The Centre also arranged and co-ordinated trainees to take part in evaluating new facilities and installations, such as tactile guidepaths and other access facilities in government buildings, country parks, public address systems of buses, the audible traffic signals in various locations, etc.

The Centre continued to play an active role in public education on awareness of visually impaired persons. Twelve Sighted Guide talks were conducted for about 1,000 students of primary and post-secondary schools, universities as well as adults in community and social services centres, etc. In addition, comprehensive presentations on knowledge and skills on communicating with the visually impaired were also conducted for the medical staff of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and Home Helpers of the Association of Engineering & Medical Volunteer Services. Senior Orientation and Mobility Instructors also organised Basic O&M Training Programmes for two visually impaired students from South Korea, special education teachers of the Jiangxu Province, China, parents of residents of the Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel of the Society. 

Career Support and Development Centre   The Society has been playing a leading role in creating employment opportunities for the blind and visually impaired since it was founded in 1956. By consolidating social work and adaptive technology, the Career Support and Development Centre was set-up in October 2000 to provide job placement, career development, counselling, information as well as training on adaptive technology and equipment. The aims and objectives of the Centre are to help visually impaired people overcome difficulties at work, in education and daily living so that they can develop their potentials and contribute to the society.

Supported by the Community Chest, the Employment Service Unit was in operation since September 1990, and the Supported Employment Service subsidised by the Social Welfare Department since October 2001. Employment related services provided included job assessment, counselling, job placement, follow-up services as well as vocational training. Despite economic hardship that existed in almost all sectors of society as a whole, 24 and 11 visually impaired persons had been placed in open employment by the Employment Service Unit and Supported Employment Service during the year under review respectively.

The 8th Acupressure and Massage Training Course for the Blind started classes in October 2002 and would finish in November 2003. Seven trainees were progressing well in a comprehensive syllabus, including basic Chinese and western medicine, anatomy, pathology, physiology, massage techniques and a three-month supervised site practicum.

The I T Awareness Programme for People with Disabilities, sponsored by the Social Welfare Department, has been launched on 8 October 2002 and would continue until 30 September 2003. A total number of 300 visually impaired persons were expected to be trained by the end of the course. In addition, we have employed an experienced part-time low vision instructor to provide free computer training course to our members with a grant from the 安朗國際有限公司.

The Centre also provided information as well as training on adaptive technology and equipment which help visually impaired people overcome difficulties in education, at work or in daily living. Suitable facilities were made available, thus enabling the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Holborn College, Radio and Television Hong Kong and Hong Kong Police Force to conduct examinations for the visually impaired candidates at the Centre.

During the year under review, over 3,900 users had been recorded using the various services of the Centre.

 

Communication Department

The Communication Department is mainly responsible for services related to access to information. Its objectives are as follows:

To provide a well-equipped braille and talking book library for the visually impaired.

To meet the cultural and recreational needs of the visually impaired.

To apply the latest recording technology possible to produce talking books.

To recruit and co-ordinate volunteers to assist visually impaired members in daily living, such as escorting, tutoring, etc.

Activities
With the assistance of ten secondary student volunteers, the Department organised a three-session group activity for its library members in early August 2002. The programme included drawing, handicraft, discussion and music performance. All the pictures drawn by the visually impaired participants were entries of the competition organised by the Society's Parent Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children. Four of them have been chosen and used in the 2003 braille calendar.

To celebrate the Chinese lunar new year, the Department organised a party for library members in early February 2003. It was an immensely successful function. Charity sale was one of the programmes which was greatly enjoyed by all participants.

Braille and Talking Book Library
Established in 1965, the Braille and Talking Book Library was the only public library for the visually impaired in Hong Kong. In March 2003, the readership was 1,999. The collection was around 11,500 titles and a variety of magazines. With a grant from the Lotteries Fund for Business Improvement Project, we were in the process of building a Digital Voice Library for the visually impaired. Upon its completion in March 2004, this library would be capable of delivering reading materials in audio format via the Internet or the telephone network so as to cater for the reading needs and support the continuous education and life long learning of the visually impaired community. In addition, with this system, the visually impaired would have equal opportunities for the access of real-time online information. Bar code system was being installed in the Library to increase efficiency and effectiveness in library management.

Music Library
The Music Library was set up in 1993. The current collection was over 2,500 compact discs and 9,600 cassette tapes. The Music Appreciation Centre of the Library proved to be popular among members during the year under review. With a generous donation from the Sunnyside Club, it was possible to enrich the library collection especially for the interest of young members.

 

 

CD-ROM Library  The CD-ROM Library was established in 1996. In March 2003, the collection was over 3,300 CD-ROM’s/VCD’s and a variety of video tapes, covering a wide range of subjects, such as geography, history, education, literature, health, science, technology, etc. Most of the library members found the information materials useful and beneficial in enriching their knowledge.

 

Professional Library
The Professional Library was set up in 1986 to provide reference materials concerning visual impairment for both the staff of the Society and related personnel in special education, adaptive technology, rehabilitation, vocational training, low vision, prevention of blindness, etc. The Library currently had a collection of over 1,100 titles and a variety of magazines and journals. During the year under review, around 2,000 visits to the Library had been recorded.

 

Talking Book Production Studios  During the year under review, with the assistance of many dedicated volunteers, the Studios produced over 130 talking books of general interest and 15 magazines of different subjects in both English and Chinese. In addition, other informational materials, such as pamphlets and Government papers were also recorded for the reference of the visually impaired. The conversion of the Library's most popular talking books from cassette format into special CD-ROM format commenced in early 2003, and was expected to take a year to complete.

 

Volunteer Referral Service
The Department played an important role in the recruitment of volunteers to assist in recording talking books and serving visually impaired persons. During the year under review, hundreds of volunteers were arranged to provide services, such as brailling, reading, personal documents handling, tutoring, escorting, etc. Thanks were due to hundreds of dedicated volunteers for making this service a great success.

Centralised Braille Production Centre
When it was appointed by the Education Department of the Government to be the operating agency for braille production in the whole of Hong Kong in 1986, the Society had, in the same year, established the Centralised Braille Production Centre (CBPC) with the aims and objectives to meet the reading needs of the visually impaired in Hong Kong by producing materials in both Chinese and English braille which is a touch-reading system for the blind invented by a Frenchman, Louis Braille (1809 - 1852) who was blind himself.

As information of all kinds are available in large volume at instantaneous speed today, compounded by the fact that more visually impaired persons are pursuing higher education and professions, the Centre clearly undertakes an important mission in the dissemination of information among the blind community which is vital for them to keep abreast of the society as a whole. Since its inception, CBPC had managed to meet about half of the annual demand. During the year under review, the output of master braille pages was about 196,500 master braille pages, while the overall production (including copies) numbered 634,300 sheets.

 

 

In late February 2003, the Centre moved from the ground floor of the Headquarters Building to the first floor. With the enlarged area, there was sufficient space to accommodate the equipment and staff whose number has increased over the past decade. The new office also provided readily available facilities for computer networking and work automation. Special attention was paid in the design to improve the work environment like noise reduction and ventilation in the machine rooms.

In order to promote volunteer service to help in braille production, the Centre has helped in organising a promotional activity of the Police Force for volunteers in mid December 2002.

In addition to reference and textbooks of primary, secondary and tertiary academic levels, which have been regular and essential items among CBPC production, the Centre had produced the following in the year under review:

 

Cantonese: 經濟、社會與文化權利的國際公約 <保障服務使用者免受侵犯>守則 文化委員會諮詢文件 2002 展能加油站 殘疾人士如何接觸及學習資訊科技 殘疾婦女與婚姻 職安電器安全指引 平安鐘使用方法 按摩院牌照申請簡介 預防非典型肺炎指引 香港上市公司電腦代2003 煤氣凸字煮食爐 機構職業安全健康工作三大法寶 壓力與燃盡：照顧者的精神健康 觸摸地圖 品行及紀律守則 “殘疾人士免費乘搭車船”使用說明 粵曲歌詞 English: Some Agencies Providing Services for Persons with Disabilities Various papers on the Special Needs Education Seminar 2002

In order to increase productivity, we have, where possible, employed computer technology. During the year under review, with a grant of $172,280 from the Van Zuiden Charity Trust, the Centre was able to purchase computers and accessories for the scanning and tactile diagram handling system to enhance productivity. To save cost, the money was spent mainly on hardware, free operation system Linux was used and other necessary supporting programmes were developed with the help of a volunteer.

At present, text is processed and reproduced in braille in the three ways described below:

Keyboard Input - Paid Braille Production Officers (BPO) copy the text with personal computers and then transcribe into braille. This is a time-consuming, but most commonly used method at our Centre. With visually impaird BPOs, they relied on volunteers to read out the book content for them to type.

OCR System Input - Apply a scanner and OCR system to feed text into the personal computer. This technique is good for those materials that have fine printing quality and suitable fonts etc. This method also enable staff or volunteers with no braille knowledge to help in book production.

File Transfer - Obtain data directly from the original source, e.g., a publisher. Texts can be stored on media like a floppy diskette, or transmitted from the owner’s computer. This is an efficient method but less than 10% of our books were completed using this method.

Health Massage and Treatment Centre
In Chinese medicine, organs of a human being and their functions are governed by over 400 acupoints and more than a dozen meridians. Systematically stimulating appropriate points as such would cause corresponding functions to regulate, thus improving the conditions of a patient without the use of any medicine. The Society operates two health massage and treatment centres, both of which recruited visually impaired masseurs and masseuses graduated mainly from our own training programme. The S. K. Yee Health Massage and Treatment Centre at the Headquarters, founded in April 1992, and the Bernard Van Zuiden Health Massage and Treatment Centre in Tuen Mun in August 1998, have the following aims and objectives:

 

1) To increase employment opportunities for the blind and visually impaired and let them fully demonstrate their expertise and potentials so as to achieve the goal of creating mutual benefits for themselves as well as the society as a whole. 2) To educate the public on awareness of abilities of visually impaired people. 3) To gain revenues to finance on-going massage training courses for beginners and advanced training programmes for people already practicing in the trade.

The relocation of the Centre from the first to the Ground Floor at the Headquarters to expand and improve our massage service was completed in May 2002. There are totally nine separate rooms for massage service, with one specifically assigned for beauty therapy service which was first introduced in December 2002. The scope of services provided by the Centre at the Headquarters also expanded to include foot reflexology in December 2002.

With the support of the Social Welfare Department’s “Enhancing Employment of People with Disabilities through Small Enterprise” project, the Mobile Massage Team was set up in December 2002 to provide customer-based massage service to clients in corporations, clubs or even individual residences, so as to further promote massage for the public and create more job opportunities for the visually impaired. So far, districts served by our Mobile Massage Team included Heng Fa Chuen and Tai Tam on Hong Kong Island, Beacon Hill, Yau Ma Tei and Lam Tin on Kowloon side, and Shatin, Tseung Kwan O and Tsing Yi in the New Territories.

In 2002 - 03, the total number of customers served by the Health Massage and Treatment Centres was 12,150, fell by 10% when compared with the previous year, but the total service hours increased slightly by 0.7% to 16,483. In view of the continuing poor economic conditions in Hong Kong, a number of promotional activities in the form of health talk, massage demonstration and leaflet distribution were organised by our Centres during the year under review to further promote all massage related services.

 

 

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Research and Development Division
Parents Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children

The Parents Resource Centre for Visually Impaired Children was established in August 1998. Up to date it is still the only resource centre of its kind in Hong Kong that provides on-going support to families with visually impaired children. The services provide by the Centre facilitate full integration of visually impaired children into our community by helping their parents to develop special parenting skills and the visually impaired children to develop their maximum potential.

 

There was a continuous increase in the Centre's membership in 2002/2003, and compared to 2001/2002, the number of members increased from 470 to 647. The increase in number of drop-in members was from 1,764 in 2001/2002 to 2,165 in 2002/2003. It further proved that more members had found services of the Centre very useful. And to accommodate the needs of a larger pool of active members, the number of activities held and number of members that participated were almost doubled.

 

A series of developmental and educational activities were held in 2002/2003 for the visually impaired children and their family members. A total of 85 activities were held to serve 1,635 members. These included twenty social and recreational groups, eighteen support groups, twenty-four educational interest classes, eight study visits and eleven family outings. These activities helped to establish intimate parent-child relationship, improved members' parenting skills, and to enhance the comprehensive development of the visually impaired children. They can also promote better understanding between volunteers and visually impaired children, and to equip the volunteers with skills to support the Centre's programmes.

 

Printed newsletters and recorded audio newsletters in form of cassette tape were published quarterly to publicize as well as to keep the members inform of the services and activities of the Centre, the latest development in the field of vision rehabilitation, and to recall meaningful memories that took place in these activities.

To raise funds and to publicize the Centre's services were two of the major emphasis of the Centre in 2002/03. The Year 2003 Braille Calendar Drawing Competition was held from June to August 2002 under the theme "To enjoy Joint Participation of the Abled and Disabled and to Develop their Concern for One Another". More than forty pieces of artworks were received from the visually impaired participants and twelve were selected to put in the Year 2003 Braille Calendar. With unfailing support of Sun Hung Kei Properties Limited, the "Year 2003 Braille Calendar Drawing Competition Award Presentation Ceremony cum Charity Sale" was held on 29 December in the Shatin New Town Plaza. The Centre's visually impaired children and volunteers performed a drama, played entertaining musical performance, and raised funds for the Centre by charity sale of toys and special handicrafts.

 

Another major emphasis of the Centre was on community education. A series of Integrated Community Education Programmes were organized for our visually impaired members and the public through joint effort with volunteer teams of other welfare organizations. Ten volunteer teams from other welfare organizations joined our Centre's Integrated Community Education Programmes. These volunteer teams were from Yung Shing Lutheran Integrated Team, St. James Settlement, Pooi To Middle School, Holy Trinity College, YMCA Shek Kip Mei Centre, Cheung Sha Wan Catholic Secondary School, Red Cross, Lotus Light Charity Society (HK) Ltd., Friends of KMB and Eureka Fun English Centre. The ten integrated programmes organized by these volunteer teams and our Centre helped to improve volunteers' interaction skills with visually impaired children and to build up their understanding, care and concern for the visually impaired.

 

In the year to come, our Centre will continue to facilitate integration by organizing as many activities as possible with more volunteer teams, and to organize a new series of Integrated Community Education Programmes and a Carnival. Through these programmes, interactions between the visually impaired children and the public can be further improved to achieve good community education. Intensive volunteers training would be organized to strengthen the volunteers' skills and knowledge in serving visually impaired children. Visually impaired teenagers and students will be encouraged to join the volunteer services to strengthen their senses of belongings and to build up their social responsibility.

General Eye and Low Vision Centre
Low Vision Services
The General Eye and Low Vision Centre provides comprehensive low vision services which include low vision assessment, prescription of low vision devices, lending of the devices for home trials, dispensing of the devices and providing referrals for the arrangement of appropriate social and educational services to the visually impaired. The total number of low vision patient attendance in 2002/2003 was 2,309. One hundred and forty six of them were comprehensive social security assistance recipients. With the generous support of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries Fund and medical subsidy of our Society, they received free low vision examinations and low vision devices.

One of our senior optometrists attended a Low Vision Working Group meeting in Australia in April to discuss the preliminary preparation for setting up a Low Vision Resource Centre. High quality low cost low vision devices were sourced and stocked in the General Eye and Low Vision Centre for setting up of the Resource Centre at the end of 2003. The General Eye and Low Vision Centre sent three of her senior optometrists to attend the 7th International Conference on Low Vision and the pre-conference Workshops in Gothenburg, Sweden in July 2002. One of them was invited to give three presentations in the Workshops.

Locally, the Centre continued to serve as an educational and promotional centre for low vision services by arranging clinical low vision training for 25 optometry students of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2 ophthalmologists of the Prince of Wales Hospital and 13 ophthalmologists of the United Christian Hospital.

 

With the support of Kwan Fong Charitable Foundation, one optometrist will be assigned to provide free low vision screening, talks and examinations to clients of elderly centres in Kowloon District. Free low vision devices will be prescribed and delivered to those with poor eye sight and are in need of the devices to enhance their visual functions to improve their abilities. Due to SARS, this project has been postponed to October 2003. Low vision simulation cards that educated the public about causes of visual impairment and their impacts were printed with the financial support of Carl Zeiss (Far East) Ltd. These simulation cards would help to increase public awareness of low vision and would be distributed through public vision screening activities and educational seminars.

 

With the support of Sir Robert Ho Tung Charitable Fund, S.K. Yee Medical Foundation and Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund, advanced electronic low vision devices (Maxport, Jordy and VES Autofocus Telescopes) and two sets of Contrast Sensitivity and Glare Testers were purchased to improve our low vision services.

General Eye Services
 The number of general eye patient attendance was 40,718 in 2002/2003, of which 2,292 were comprehensive social security assistance recipients. Some of these were patients with mental and physical disabilities, referred to the Centre by social service organizations such as Sheng Kung Hui Wu King day Activity Centre and Hostel, Hong Chi Shui Choi CTR. & Hostel, Pentecostal Church of Hong Kong Hostel, The Society of Homes for the handicapped Leung King Adult Training Centre, The Mental Health Association of Hong Kong and New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association etc. Eighty-four poor patients in need of urgent eye operations to cure their blinding eye diseases received financial subsidies from the Oriental Daily News Charitable Fund and van Zuiden Charity Fund as well as our Society's Medical Subsidy Fund for their eye operations. With the support of Advanced Medical Optics, a Diabetes Mellitus blood tester was purchased to provide more accurate test results. A series of talks about eye care and vision hygiene were conducted by our optometrists to enhance the knowledge of eye care of the school students, medical and healthcare workers, elderly and the public. The Centre had provided vision screening to more than one thousand and four hundred kindergarten and primary school students age from 3 to 12 in 2002/03.

New Service
Orthokeratology to control and to reduce myopia was commenced in June 2002. Until the end of March 2003, nine patients had been treated by Orthokeratology and all of them had their myopia reduced significantly.

Future Plans
The Centre will put to service a mobile vision screening bus to provide early detection of ocular abnormality and to promote visual hygiene among kindergarten children, disabled persons with mental and physical handicaps, and the elderly in December 2003.

Consultancy Service Unit   The Consultancy Service Unit was established to provide consultancy services to government departments, organizations, private companies and members of the public to make services and facilities more accessible to the visually impaired so that they can enjoy equal opportunity in every aspect as sighted persons. The services of this Unit include : 1) to provide appropriate training programmes to personnel who work in the field of rehabilitation for the visually impaired to enable them to serve their clients better; 2) to give advice on the design of appropriate environments and the use of appropriate facilities to improve the functional abilities of persons with visual impairments; 3) to supply products necessary for the improvement of accessibility for the visually impaired.

In 2002/03 the Consultancy Service Unit provided training on the causes, impacts and management of visual impairment to four officers from the China Disabled Persons Federation and over sixty participants in two training courses organized by the Hong Kong Council of Social Services for field workers who serve clients with visual impairment. The Consultancy Service Unit was consulted by increasing number of organizations and companies about how to design access free facilities, and how to obtain supply of tactile and braille products. These organizations and companies included the Equal Opportunities Commission, Hong Kong Council of Social Services, Lingnan University, Transport Department, Downer Construction Limited, Hung Mau Realty and Construction Ltd., NKI Group, etc. The Factory for the Blind, Rehabilitation Division and the Consultancy Service Unit worked together to produce presentations that demonstrated to staff of the Architectural Services Department about the importance and applications of appropriate barrier free designs for persons with visual impairment. Such presentations to the architects of Architectural Services Department and representatives of other organizations and companies helped to promote our specialty in designing and supplying access free products and facilities, and helped them to understand the regulations in Design Manual-Barrier Free Access 1997, as well as how to apply the regulations correctly to their projects.

 

In 2002/03 the Consultancy Service Unit provided design and supply services to various projects such as the NKI's West Rail project, Sharp Ace's Lai Chi Kok Park project, Gold Banner's Tseung Kwan O Hospital project, China Road Bridge's Tseung Kwan O Recreational Complex project, Downer's Peking Road pedestrian subway project, Hung Mau's Tsuen Wan Shopping Complex project etc.

 

At the KCRC-West Rail's request, the Unit started the production of stainless steel tactile map in late 2002 and successfully produced Hong Kong's first stainless steel tactile map at the end of 2002, and collected comments from our clients and the blind users to improve the design of the stainless steel tactile map. New audio device that carried two separate sound tracks to give description of the floor layout plan in Cantonese and English to the visually impaired was developed for the Tseung Kwan O Hospital tactile maps. The new design was better than many other audio devices that employed only one sound track and allowed the visually impaired persons to understand and get access to the descriptive message more effectively. We expect the new audio device has great potential for larger applications in the future.

In the coming year, the Unit would concentrate on the provision of good quality tactile maps with audio messages for public facilities to continue strengthening public and professional recognition of the Unit's expertise in this special field. It will organize presentations and exhibitions to publicize the importance of barrier free for the visually impaired and to demonstrate appropriate designs to further promote its consultancy services as well as the tactile and braille products of the Factory for the Blind. It will also explore ways to improve the existing designs and to introduce into Hong Kong the more advanced barrier free facilities for the visually impaired.

 

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Residential Services Division
Eight major objectives had been set for the Residential Services Division under the Fourth Five Year Programme Plan from 2002/03 to 2006/07. They are : 1) To work out feasible plans to meet with Lump Sum Grant Implementation and Reduction of Community Chest Allocation, 2) To monitor the implementation of Service Quality Standards,3) Promotion of Occupational Safety and Health in Residential Service Setting, 4)Provision of a Decent Living Environment for our Service Users, 5) Community Networking for Promotion of Social Integration,6) Application of Information Technology to Achieve Better Efficiency in Service Delivery, 7) To Build up Professional Image for our Services and 8) To Render Assistance to the Organization of Agency Functions.

Process Reengineering
Different staff teams have been selected in each of the Home for process review and reengineering for improvement of the service routines during the year. Meanwhile, a number of Enhanced Productivity Programmes had been launched to raise fund to support future service development such as charity sales, health check programmes and respite care.

Service Performance Monitoring
The Operation Manuals of individual Homes under the Division had been updated and formatted in the same sequence of the sixteen Service Quality Standards set under the Service Performance Monitoring System of the Social Welfare Department. The updated hard copies and CD-rom version had been made available in all the Homes as from September, 2002 for staff, service users and visitors' reference.

Professional Service Teams
To pool resources for better service delivery, the Physiotherapy Service Team under the Division continued to provide quality service to the aged blind residents in our four Homes for the Aged Blind. Apart from normal service delivery, the Physiotherapy Team started to plan for a research project to examine the effectiveness of exercise programme in improving the mobility and prevention of fall of the elderly people with visual impairment. The research programme will last for two years.

Meanwhile, the Dementia Care Service team under the Division was set up in the beginning of 2002/03 to provide a much more coordinated service to the aged blind clients with dementia symptoms. Four focus groups namely, movement to music, reminiscence, remedial activity and sensory stimulation had been devised and tried out in each of our Homes for the Aged Blind.

Deafblind Training Programme
We are deeply grateful to Mr Daniel Poon for his generous donation of HK$185,000 to support the printing of the first Deaf-blind Training Manual in Hong Kong, the production of a CD-rom in both Cantonese and Mandarin version on Use of Tactual Sign Language and the organization of training workshops for trainers. During the year, staff of Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel and the Rehabilitation Centre of the Rehabilitation Division worked together to write up some of the Chapters for the Training Manual. In addtion, teachers of the Jockey Club Caritas Lok Yan School and the Ebenezer Training Centre also contributed for experience sharing in the education of deafblind kids with multiple handicaps in the Training Manual.

 

Agency Flag Day 2003  All Homes participated actively in the Agency Flag Day 2003 in recruitment of volunteers for flag selling and soliciting donation for fund raising. Meanwhile, handicraft sales counter was launched at the New Town Plaza in last December to echo for the promotion programme organized by the Parents Resource Centre for the Visually Impaired Children of the agency. The result was satisfactory.

 

Below are highlights of service development in each of the Homes of the Division during the year under review.

Bradbury Care and Attention Home for the Aged Blind
General Situation 
The capacity of the Home is 52 with 20 males and 32 females. During the year under review, 9 residents were admitted, 6 residents passed away, 1 resident was transferred to the Jockey Club Tuen Mun Home for the Aged Blind for infirmary care and 1 resident withdrew for personal reasons. As at the end of March, 2003, there were 50 residents with 20 males and 30 females, representing an occupancy rate of 96.2 %.

 

Home Licence
The Home got its operating licence renewed from 1 April 2003 for three years to 31 May, 2006. During the period, fire drills had been conducted twice a year and all the maintenance certificates for equipment and facilities were updated from time to time for meeting statutory requirements.

Medical and Health Care 
Throughout the year, the Community Psycho-geriatric Team of Kowloon Hospital and the Community Geriatric Assessment Service of Kwong Wah Hospital provided visiting medical consultations and rehabilitation service to the needy residents of the Home. In addition, our Visiting Medical Officer provided consultation service to our residents once a week. We appreciated their support and guidance for better care of our aged blind residents.

A total of 15 residents were found suffering from different levels of senile dementia and 9 residents have been waitlisted for infirmary placement at Hospital Authority in the year under review. In order to meet the constant care needs of the frail elderly, we had employed additional staff namely social worker, personal care workers, physiotherapist and occupational therapist to provide special care to the frail elderly and the demented elderly under the provision of Infirmary Care Supplement and Dementia Care Supplement from the Social Welfare Department.

To prevent residents from rapid deterioration in physical health, health exercise and individual orientation and training programmes had been organized regularly. The community nurses of the Department of Health were invited to give health talks to our residents during the year so as to enrich the residents' health knowledge and awareness.

Individual rehabilitation and treatment programmes as well as fall assessment for frail residents had been conducted by the Physiotherapist in order to upkeep their optimal functioning and prevention of fall.

 

Social Work Services
During the year, we have sought support from community volunteer groups and family members of our residents to organize different kinds of social and recreational programme for the residents, such as socialization groups, interest classes, birthday parties, festival celebrations and outings. Through active participation in these activities, the interaction between residents and the community had been enhanced and their lives enriched with happiness.

In November, a Family Gathering for celebration of Senior Citizens' Day was organized for the residents and their family members so as to promote their sense of belonging to the Home. The feedback was positive and encouraging.

In order to promote the concept of "user participation" in the Home, a Cafeteria Service Consultation Committee was established. Ten committee members were nominated by the residents and three members were invited from residents' family members. Regular meetings were held to collect service users' feedback to the services of the Cafeteria launched for the residents throughout the year. As a result, better communication between the Home and the service users was achieved.

Volunteer recruitment through the organization of volunteer training course had been conducted in the summer of 2002. A total of 21 volunteers were recruited from the community who joined the Bradbury Friends' Club to provide visiting and recreational service to our residents after completion of the training course.

For better monitoring of residents' individual care, Individual Care Plan for the Home residents were formulated and reviewed throughout the year. As at the end of March 2003, a total of 58 Individual Care Plans have been reviewed and compiled. Good progress and substantial individual achievements were recorded.

 

Improvement of Home Facilities
During the year, with the support of Lotteries Fund, our Home facilities and equipment were replaced and improved as follows:

-- 10 sets of air-conditioners were replaced and 4 sets of stainless steel air curtains were installed in July, 2002. The Home ventilation was much improved.

-- Annual inspection and repair for the Home Van was completed in March 2003.

-- In order to provide a safety living environment to the residents, the fixed electrical installation periodic inspection and repair for the Home had been carried out in December 2002. The WRII was issued to the Home by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department in January 2003.

-- The worn out furniture were replaced including 13 sets of dinning tables, 20 sets of wheel chair patches and 10 sets of office chairs.

Improvement in Occupational Health and Safety 
In order to increase staff's awareness in occupational health and safety at work, lifting assessment was arranged for staff in December 2002 and a follow- up training workshop to enrich the Home staff's knowledge on occupational health and work safety was conducted. Moreover, a series of staff training programmes including talks and workshops, and regular internal work place risk assessment had been arranged during the year.

Community Liaison
Apart from receiving visitors from various community groups and constant liaison with volunteer groups in the community to provide services for the aged blind residents, the Home Superintendent was invited to participate in the Kowloon City District Elderly Service Coordinating Committee of the Social Welfare Department as a member in the year under review.

Kowloon Home for the Aged Blind General Situation  The Kowloon Home for the Aged Blind has a capacity of 94, which comprises 52 C&A and 42 OPH places. During the year under review 6 residents were admitted, 5 residents passed away, and 1 resident was transferred to the TMHAB for infirmary care. As at 31 March 2003, the total enrolment of residents was 90, representing 95.7% in occupancy rate.

 

Medical and Health Care
The health care needs of our residents range from health promotion and maintenance to long-term chronic care. Health care services were provided to the residents in form of individual and group training with the aims to promote the physical health and self-care ability of the residents. Our nursing team and physiotherapists conducted regular educational programmes in the form of health talks and exercise classes for the residents. In addition, our residents had established the habit of performing exercise every morning by following the playback of the recording done by our Physiotherapist during the year of 2002. Moreover, ten health talks were delivered by the Department of Health of Shamshuipo District to enrich our residents' general health awareness and knowledge.

For medical service, a private general practitioner visited our Home on regular basis to provide general medical consultation to our residents. Community Geriatric Assessment Team (CGAT) from the Caritas Medical Centre and Psychogeriatric Assessment Team (PGT) from Kwai Chung Hospital also continued their outreaching services to our Home. During the year under review, the attendance of medical follow-up at clinic and hospitalization were recorded as 822 and 137 respectively by head count. Regarding utilization of visiting medical services, CGAT and PGT services, the resident attendance were 952,271 and 40 respectively.

Social Work Service
The delivery of social work service has been done through the formulation and regular progress review of Individual Care Plans (ICPs) devised to meet with individual needs. During the year under review, a total of 96 ICPs had been formulated for new admissions and reviewed for all the aged blind residents staying in the Home.

Concerning dementia care service, a total of 21 dementia residents were diagnosed to have suffering from certain degree of dementia. A social worker and a part-time occupational therapist were responsible for providing tailor-made programmes, therapeutic groups and individual assessment to the demented aged blind. From February 03 to March 03, the purchase of occupational therapy service from a private rehabilitation service centre was made which aligned with our existing services to provide more adequate training and treatment to our demented residents in order to maintain their functional skills and cognitive ability.

For the promotion of residents' sense of belonging and enrichment of their life experience, mass functions, festive programmes, indoor and outdoor activities were organized throughout the year. Family members were encouraged to join in the programmes in order to strengthen the family support and relationship with the residents.

A carnival was held in November, 2002 where many family members came to our Home to celebrate the Senior Citizens' Day with the residents. Through such arrangement, better mutual understanding and concern towards the residents was enhanced. A mini survey was conducted for residents' relatives in 2002 to collect feedback on our service quality and the result was positive and valuable.

Two residents' volunteer groups named: Mutual Care Group and Friendship Group had been formed to promote the spirit of mutual help and care among our residents.

More sources of funds had been sought to enrich the activities for our residents. The Committee of Shamshuipo District Board - 2002 on International Disabled Day Shamshuipo District Programme granted a subsidy to the Home to organize activities to echo for the campaign. Young volunteers were recruited to work together with our residents to decorate our Home. This programme helped to promote the spirit of "active aging" and provided a good chance for the integration of the aged and youth volunteers. It gave our residents a positive and pleasant experience too.

 

Improvement of Home Facilities and Equipment
With support from the Lotteries Fund, worn-out air-conditioning systems located at 5-7/F canteens and corridors were replaced together with repair of water leakage of the air-conditioning system on the three floors.

The replacement work of vinyl floor of the 5-7/F floors was carried out and completed in June 2002 with the generous support from the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries Fund. The new floor created a safer, brighter and more comfortable living environment for our residents.

We were grateful to the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries Fund who supported a total amount $139,800.00 for the repainting of the interior and ceiling of our Home. The anticipated date of completion of the repainting works would be in mid 2003.

Improvement in Occupational Health and Safety
To enhance staff's overall awareness and responsibility towards occupational safety, training workshops on manual handling, lifting and transfer were conducted. Assessment of manual handling for frontline staff and nursing staff was carried out. More equipment was purchased and some of their design altered to ensure occupational safety.

A display board and Occupational Safety and Health magazines had been put up inside the Home for staff's reference

Community Liaison
In the year 2002, the Superintendent continued to be a member of Shamshuipo Elderly Service Coordinating Committee of SWD and the Elderly Service Working Group under the Shamshuipo District Board.

A joint function to promote Concern for the Elderly in the Community was held in joint collaboration with the Neighbourhood Advice Action Council supported by the Shamhuipo District Board from November 2002 to March 2003. Apart from raising public concern towards the elderly, through participation in the event, the elderly would be educated to cherish their own life. To achieve the objectives, Slogan, Colouring and Writing Competitions were held. To round up the campaign, a closing ceremony was organized on 1st of March at the Ming Yin College. The Chairman of Shamshuipo District Board, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Society for the Blind, the agency head of the Neighbourhood Advice Action Council and a number of celebrities in the District were invited to officiate at the ceremony. A number of elderly groups in the District gave performances and there was presentation of prizes to the winners of the various competitions at the Closing Ceremony. The programme was a resounding success with a total of 600 participants from the community recorded.

 

Jockey Club Tuen Mun Home for the Aged
General Situation
During the year under review, 28 residents were admitted, 31 residents passed away and 12 residents were transferred internally for higher level of care, from Old People Home Section to Care and Attention Section and from the Care and Attention Section to Infirmary Care Section. 1 resident withdrew due to personal adjustment problem. As at 31 March 2003, the number of residents enrolled was 237, representing an occupancy rate of 94.8%.

Home Licence
Although the Home licence is due for renewal until 2004, fire drill exercises were conducted in March and September respectively according to the licensing requirement. Meanwhile, minor follow-up works were being carried out to improve the central ventilation system as advised by the Fire Services Department.

Medical and Health Care
Regular health checks, nursing care and health talks were delivered to the aged blind residents. Three visiting doctors continued their general medical consultation services to residents of Tuen Mun Home. During the year, medical attendance at clinics recorded a total of 2,877 by head-count, 381 by head-count for hospitalization and 852 by head-count for receiving visiting medical service, which were more or less the same as in the previous year.

The Prince Philips Dental Hospital of the University of Hone Kong provided a free outreaching dental service to Tuen Mun Home residents from 19 to 24 February 2003. A total of 37 residents received the service that comprised of oral check-up, scaling, filling, repair of denture as well as extraction of bad teeth at the Tuen Mun Home. The residents, particularly the frail residents, benefited from the free dental services.

During the year, service guides on Fall Prevention, Feeding, Restrainers, Safety Handling of Drugs, Pressure Sore and Stoma Care had been devised to strengthen our nursing care services.

The physiotherapy team provided constant assessment, treatment as well as exercise programmes and individual training to the residents to maintain their physical health and mobility. Besides, hydrotherapy treatment was rendered to the needy residents. This year, the assessment scores of Barthel Index of individual residents were incorporated into the residents' Individual Care Plan to give social work and nursing care teams a better picture about the self-care abilities of the resident for better service planning. The physiotherapist also gave in-service training to staff on proper transfer and lifting of frail elderly.

Thanks to the support from the Sir David Trench Fund, we had acquired handgrip dynamometer, peak flow meter and metronome for testing and measuring of the physical fitness of aged blind residents during rehabilitation exercise class and individual exercise programme.

Social Work Service  According to the Funding and Service Agreements, 34 Individual Care Plans (ICPs) had been formulated for new admissions and 236 ICPs had been reviewed to provide better care for our residents during the year. "Promoting mutual concern and care, developing a happy family" was set as the theme for this year to encourage our residents to show concern to others and to promote their mutual interaction. Under this main theme, we had set a sub-theme for each quarter. The sub-themes were: "The Home is my Home", "Knowing my Country" and "Workshop on Environmental Protection"; drama broadcasting, workshops, quiz, cleaning competition and a number of mass programmes were organized to echo the themes. Active participation of the residents was recorded.

 

A total of 79 residents were diagnosed as suffering from senile dementia and 81 were suspected cases under preliminary assessment as at 31 March 2003. Dementia care service was rendered by a social worker and an occupational therapist. Four kinds of therapeutic groups, namely: movement to music, reminiscence, remedial activities and sensory stimulation were organized for the demented elderly. Besides, individual counselling and training had been delivered to meet with individual needs.

To promote mutual support among residents, two groups named "Mutual Love" and "Friendliness" were launched in which the more capable residents paid friendly visits to the frail residents living in the Home or being hospitalized in hospitals to show their care and concern to one another.

Apart from regular activities, such as interest groups, morning tea, garden walk and festive programmes, a bazaar cum carnival was held for the residents, their relatives and other elderly living in the community on 21 December 2002. There were seven game stalls and three charity sale stalls set up at the bazaar. About 350 people including 89 residents and relatives, plus people from the community joined the programme.

Regular Residents' and Relatives' meetings were held during the year to collect feedback on our service operation and quality. The meetings served to enhance communication between the residents/relatives and the Home. Besides, a newsletter was issued and delivered to the relatives after each meeting to keep them informed of the recent concerns of the Home.

A 'Meal Service Consultation Committee' was set up since September 2002, inviting residents and staff to comment on our meal service regularly for service improvement. In addition, there were 127 residents participated in the election for "The Most Popular and the Least Popular Dishes" held the first time in the Home.

The Tuen Mun District Council had approved a sum of $3,150 to support the organization of a community volunteer programme that was held from December 02 to February 03. In addition, 48 volunteers who had delivered volunteer service 5 times or more in 2002 were presented appreciation certificates on 21 December 02 to give them due encouragement and recognition.

Active community participation of the residents was promoted. Our aged blind residents got four awards during the year, namely: "Tuen Mun Hospital Volunteer Appreciation Award 2002", "Participation Award for the Elderly Talent Show", "Tuen Mun District Active Participation Award for Elderly Performance", and "Tuen Mun District Super Award for Elderly Performance".

 

Improvement of Home Facilities and Equipment
With support of the Lotteries Fund Block Grant, the renovation of MVAC and drainage pipes was completed. The broken pipes were replaced and the chiller water pipes and air duct had been repaired.

Thanks are due to the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries who supported our replacement of the slippery kitchen floor tiles. Moreover, the floor level had been raised during the replacement of floor tiles so that the water could be drained away easily to avoid accidents instead of making pools inside the kitchen.

Two sets of sofa and television cabinets were placed in the residents' dinning rooms to provide a more comfortable sitting area for the residents and their relatives when they stay in the dining room for a chat. The curtains inside the three residents' dinning rooms had been replaced with domestic design that promotes a more decent and pleasant environment for our residents.

In order to facilitate staff to transfer meals from the kitchen to the residents' dining rooms on the three floors safely, a "hold" button was installed in the service lift in November 2002. With the "hold" button installed, the door would be kept open for a few minutes until it is reset again to allow staff to have sufficient time to wheel the food trolley in and out of the service lift. In addition, seven carpet blower machines were purchased to keep the floor dry during humid and rainy seasons to prevent fall accidents.

Occupational Safety and Health
The Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Committee set up within the Home held their meetings quarterly. Sharing and discussions were held to focus on improving work safety to minimize work injuries. During the year under review, the Safety Policy was revised and endorsed by the Chief Executive. The Staff Safety Charter, Emergency Guide and other related documents had been reviewed and updated. Meanwhile, unit in-charges were responsible for conducting the annual manual handling assessment and to devise appropriate training plan for their service team members. They also shared the inspection work on fire prevention and environmental safety on a quarterly basis. Staff training and refreshment workshops had been held to upkeep staff's knowledge and awareness of occupational safety.
 

Community Liaison  The Social Welfare Department Tuen Mun District Committee on Elderly Service has resumed since April 2002 for better coordination of welfare services in the district. The Superintendent was nominated to be a member of the Committee. Three working groups namely, Service Development, Elderly Social and Recreational Service, and Elderly Education were formed. The Superintendent joined the Working Group on Service Development. The Superintendent was invited to be a member of the Vetting Committee of the 2003 Opportunities for the Elderly Project (OEP) - "Enjoying Quality Life Together" of the Tuen Mun District. Besides, the Superintendent was appointed Committee member of the Department of Health New Territories Northwest District Health Committee for the year 02-03 and continued attending meetings of the Tuen Mun Hospital NT West Geriatric Services Consultation & Advisory Committee in 2002-03.

Yuen Long Home for the Aged Blind 
General Situation 
The Yuen Long Home for the Aged Blind has a capacity of 118, with 58 places in Meal Section, 40 places in Care-and-Attention Section and 20 places in the Infirmary Unit. During the year under review, 11 residents were newly admitted, 8 residents were internally transferred to the Care-and-Attention Section from Meal Section, 1 resident was transferred to the Infirmary Unit from the Care-and Attention Section and 13 residents passed away. As at 31 March 2003, the total number of residents enrolled was 114 , representing an occupancy rate of 96.6%.

Home Licence 
The Home License was successfully renewed for another three years from 4 July 2002 to 30 June 2005 by the Licensing Office of the Residential Care Homes for the Elderly of SWD. During the period, fire drills had been conducted twice a year and various maintenance certificates had been renewed annually to meet with the licensing requirement.

 

Medical and Health Care Service 
During the year under review, medical attendance at clinics recorded a total of 1,550 by head-count, 106 by head-count for hospitalization and 1,026 by head-count for receiving visiting medical service, which were very much the same as in the pervious year.

To prevent residents from rapid deterioration in their physical health, health talks delivered by the Department of Health Yuen Long District Visiting Health Team continued this year. A total of 350 residents attended the health talks by head-count. We should thank the Dental Service Outreach Team of the Prince Philip Dental Hospital of The University of Hong Kong for their provision of free dental healthcare to our residents in March 2003. A total of 61 residents benefited from the service.

Social Work Activities 
For meeting the Funding and Service Agreement requirement, Individual Care Plans (ICPs) for residents has been launched for a few years. Different professionals got together to formulate plans for monitoring residents' individual care. From our past years experience, we emphasized on case management approach in the implementation of Individual Care Plans. The social worker was assigned as the case manager to monitor the progress of ICPs. The result was positive and better efficiency was achieved. During the year under review, a total of 130 Individual Care Plans had been reviewed and formulated for new admissions.

With the provision of Dementia Care Supplement from SWD, Yuen Long Home has recruited a full-time social worker and a part-time occupation therapist to render tailor-made therapeutic programmes such as sensory stimulation, reminiscence, musical movement and news discussion to needy residents. The result was positive. At the end of period, 23 residents were diagnosed as suffering from senile dementia and 4 were suspected cases. Compared with last year, there was a little increase in the number of dementia cases.

All along, volunteers gave us great support in providing various indoor and outdoor recreational activities to our residents. Volunteer training was the main channel for volunteer's recruitment. During the year, a volunteer training programme has been conducted. Topics on "What are Volunteers?", "Knowing the Elderly", "Human Relationship", "Communication Skills with Elderly", "Knowledge on Orientation and Mobility of the Visually Impaired" were included in the training programme. A total of 42 new volunteers have been recruited last year. Volunteer recognition was made during the Christmas Party in December. A total of 24 volunteers who had contributed more than 50 service hours a year had been awarded and given due recognition. At the award presentation, Yuen Long Home gave our sincere thanks to all volunteers for their generous support in the past year too.

Improvement of Equipment and Facilities 
The home van has been in use for providing transportation service to our aged blind residents for attending medical consultations and recreational outings. Due to long years of service for more than fourteen years, replacement was deemed necessary to meet with the needs of our frail elderly. With support from the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries (BMCPC), Yuen Long Home was granted HK$553,210 to replace the old home van with a new 17-seater home van with wheelchair lift in late 2002. We should thank the BMCPC for their unfailing support.

Community Involvement 
Being one of the service units in Yuen Long District, the Yuen Long Home continued as a member of the Yuen Long District Rehabilitation Service Coordinating Committee and NT-West Geriatric Services Consultative & Advisory Committee.

At the same time, the social worker and the Superintendent joined the sub-working group and the Yuen Long District Elderly Service Joint Function and Community Working Group as members respectively during the year, to help in launching public educational activities in the district.

During the year under review, a total of 29 visits had been received from schools, volunteer groups and charity organizations. We took these opportunities to introduce our service to the general public and younger generation. Through these visits, better communication between our visually impaired residents and the community was achieved.

Morning Glory DAC Cum Hostel 
General Situation 
During the year, enrolment for the Day Activity Centre and Hostel is both 62, representing an occupancy rate of 100%. The service met the output standards set under the 'Funding and Service Agreement'. The achievement rates of Individual Training Plan and Individual Care Plan were 100 % and 103% respectively.

Service Development 
Sensory-motor Development and Treatment Programme 
Last year, we were glad to set up our own para-medical service team. With funding support from the Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped, a multi-sensory training room was established in last October. Based on the professional support from the para-medical service team that comprises a part-time occupational therapist and a part-time physiotherapist, an Integrated Therapeutic Programme and Motor Training Programme have been devised to better meet with the individual training needs of the mentally handicapped clients with visual impairment and other multiple disabilities. The launching of regular sensory-motor training and treatment programme by the para-medical service team was found effective to ventilate the emotions and unstable behaviours of the handicapped trainees that foster their motivation in training and social integration. The new programme impressed the parents who welcomed this innovative development.

During the year, different working groups have been set up among staff teams to provide more channels for staff to give insights for more effective service delivery to meet with the changing needs of our trainees and to upgrade their quality of life. Staff had been taking an active part in the meetings and they had contributed constructive ideas for service restructuring and change of work routines to go for better care of our service users.

In addition, a friendly visit to the Caritas Medical Centre for an exchange with their cooks on the provision of good quality meal service and work safety inside kitchen had been arranged for our kitchen staff in last August. The visit was inspiring and fruitful. The dietitian of the Caritas Medical Centre gave constructive comments on our food menu for residents for improvement too.

Customers' Satisfactory Survey 
Apart from collection of feedback from trainees and parents during house-meetings, the bi-monthly newsletter of Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel, home visits and parents' meetings, we had conducted face-to-face interviews to collect trainees' and parents' feedback on our day training service in last summer. The feedback was positive and encouraging.

Parent's Work 
In order to gain a better understanding of our trainees and their parents / carers, home visits had been made to the families of the trainees cum residents of Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel. There was encouraging exchange with the parents or guardians of our service users regarding our services and proposal of the restructuring of service routines. Positive feedback and constructive views on the service development of the Centre were gathered too. We were particularly grateful to parents and family members of our service users for their active participation in the different activities and workshops organized for them in the past year. Apart from this, the parents had been our strong supporter in making donations to support functions and events organized at the centre level and agency level.

Medical and Health Care 
Throughout the year, various kinds of health talk had been organized to enhance staff's medical knowledge and health care skills. Meanwhile, the Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Visitation Service offered by the Central Para-medical Service Team of the Social Welfare Department, the Psychiatric Outreaching Service of the Siu Lam Hospital and the Dental Consultation Service from the Medical Mutual Aids continued to provide consultation and outreaching service to our needy residents.

Improvement of Equipment & Facilities 
We were grateful to the Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries Fund who approved the grant of $110,000 for improvement work of the ventilation system inside kitchen. In addition, the Lotteries Fund Block Grant supported the improvement work of the bathrooms and toilets, and the air-conditioning system on 3/F and 4/F of the Centre. Meanwhile, thanks should be due to the Rotary Club of Peninsular for support of $20,000 for acquisition of additional training equipment for the multi-sensory programme. On 22 July 2002, we got the donation from the Philips (HK) Ltd and the Oriental Daily News some home appliances as training equipment to support the daily living skills training of the Centre.

Promotion of Occupational Safety & Health 
During the year, regular risk assessment of the home environment and training workshops related to occupational safety and health had been conducted for staff in order to correct malpractice and minimize unnecessary work injuries. Regular fire drills were launched every half a year to educate and familiarize both staff and the trainees the correct way of handling emergency and fire escape. Guidelines to promote work safety for different staff teams have been updated so as to better monitor the service operation.

 

Replacement of work tables and assistive devices inside kitchen to comply with occupational safety and health has been in progress.

Community Networking and Liaison 
The 1st Local Conference for People with Mental Handicap in Hong Kong Eleven trainees and four parents attended the pre-workshop and the plenary sessions of the two days' conference on 11-12 January 03 at the City University of Hong Kong. All participants treasured the opportunity to participate in the first local conference organized mainly for the mentally handicapped persons in Hong Kong.

Volunteers Service Development    We have conducted several volunteers training course for students from the Baptist University and volunteers from the community during the year for volunteer's recruitment and to enhance public understanding about the target clients we are serving. We were glad to have their kind support and active participation on carrying out the Computer Training Programme, Community Education Activities held on every Friday as well as the Holiday Care Programme. Their generous support impressed all of us.

Special School Attachment Programme 
In order to promote our service and to have better alliance with special schools so as to enlarge our client-base, we have offered three day placements for students of the extended programmes of special school of the Chi Yan Special School with effect from March 2003. It was hoped that the attachment programme would be helpful to facilitate the transition of special school graduates to Day Activity Centre placement. 

 

Community Funding Support   Funding had been approved by the Shamshuipo District Board for support of launching a creative game stall at the joint District function held in last summer in Shamshuipo together with other non-governmental organizations in the district. On the other hand, the cultural excursion within Hong Kong supported by the Hong Kong Bank Foundation District Community Programme was completed in February 2003. All the 62 trainees of the Centre attended the programme and 20 staff plus volunteers took part to provide escort service during the tour.

 

Community Liaison 
The Home Superintendent took an active part in attending meetings of the Coordinating Committee on Services for the Mentally Handicapped under the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. She also assisted in the organization work of the First Local Conference for the Mentally Handicapped Persons in Hong Kong.

Community Support Service 
Holiday Care Project 
Since March 2002, the Holiday Care Programme was launched as an extended service of the Morning Glory DAC cum Hostel for a period of three years under support from the Social Welfare Department. The total number of attendance of disabled users from April 2002 to March 2003 was around 2,500. We did an intake of 75 cases since March 2002 and throughout the year 02/03, we had built up a pool of 27 clients who used our holiday care service on a regular basis. With support from a hard-working team, an "Operation Manual" for this Project was devised within the first three months since the commencement of the project and had established a good network with some special schools during the year. Our Occupational Therapist has conducted the first survey to collect users' feedback towards our holiday care programme during the year and the feedback has been very positive.

Bradbury Home 
General Situation 
During the year under review, the Home achieved a full enrolment rate of ten, including six females and 4 males.

Training Service 
To show our respect of residents' individual needs and to strengthen their active role in the training process, residents had been encouraged to express their needs and expectation during the meetings on review of "Individual Service Plan" and the planning meetings of different interest groups. New programmes such as "Work Competence Training" , "Workplace Interpersonal Relationship Skills Training" and Computer Training Course had been rendered to meet the different interest of the residents and to offer them more choices. Several residents had enrolled in the training course on Use of Information Technology for the Disabled organized jointly by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Social Welfare Department.

The residents became fond of using internet after completion of the training programme. We discerned both the active participation and positive growth of the residents during the attendance of the meetings and training.

Hostel Life 
During the year under review, we are glad to see the active participation of our residents in various community programmes too, such as the District Game Stall Competition, Variety Show for the Disabled Persons, the First Hong Kong Conference for the Mentally Handicapped Persons and the Agency Flag Day. The trip to Macau was the most welcoming programme of the year. Residents enjoyed a fruitful and enjoyable life in the year under review.

 

Development of Volunteers Service 
The volunteers provided regular visits and had actively taken part in giving escort service to our residents during outdoor activities as well as various social programmes. Both parties enjoyed shopping together too. They became friends and shared their life experience in the process of growth and development during their contacts.

Parents Work 
Parents of the residents are our close partners, we collected their expectation and feedback on our service during the home visits made last year. Their importance in the life and personal growth of the disabled residents was being recognized. Apart from regular exchange of information regarding the progress of their disabled child or family member staying under our care, we were glad to see one of the elder sister of our residents got the award of "2002 Outstanding Career for the Disabled" of the Kowloon City District. The ceremony was held on 4 January 2003. The great effort she made to foster the personal growth and development of her younger brother with special needs through love and concern had impressed us.

Service Quality Control 
Last summer, the Bradbury Home succeeded in passing the Third Phase External Assessment of the compliance with the 16 Service Quality Standards conducted by the Social Welfare Department. Besides, efforts had been made to strive for continuous improvement and set up various channels for service users to express their opinions. By participating in regular house meetings of the Home, residents gained better opportunities to express their opinions and to develop a sense of belonging to the Home. The residents took an active part in the house meetings to express their views on the service and was eager to give their service feedback at the face-to-face interview at the survey on Customers' Feedback held last year.

Improvement of Furniture and Facilities 
The Home underwent renovation and improvement work in facilities and equipment with support from the Lotteries Fund, such as the improvement of electrical installations , replacement of toilet floor tiles and drainage pipes, replacement of the entrance door and kitchen door and etc. With this improvement of furniture and facilities, we aimed to provide a more comfortable and decent living environment for the residents.

 

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Conclusion 
As can be seen from the activity highlights, the Society continues to expand in scope and quality in our service provisions. Our staff is able to maintain an upkeep spirit and dedicate themselves to the well-being of the clients under their service and care. We will continue to maintain a positive attitude to meet with the many challenges that lay ahead. We will strive to find innovative and creative ways to maintain a good balance between service quality, quantity, and resources restrain. All along we have successfully tackled this task because we have worked together as one team with a clear mission and vision. This is a collaborative effort. I want to give my heartfelt thanks to the many people and organizations involved in this endeavour and, in particular, to Mr. Clive Oxley, Chairman of the Society, whose visionary leadership helps the Society sails through many rough tides in the past years, and members of the Council who have offered their time, expertise, and guidance. Our service could not have continued without the financial support and guidance of the Government, especially the Social Welfare Department, the Education and Manpower Bureau and the Hospital Authority. The Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Community Chest have been staunch supporters of our work to people with visual impairment in the past decades and no words can represent adequately my gratitude. I cannot name one by one the many donors, organizations, and volunteers that have played an instrumental part in our continual improved services, but I want to convey the message that your contributions are greatly appreciated by the Society, the staff, and all the clients that have benefited from your benevolence. Last but not the least, I would give my applause to the heads of divisions/departments and members of my staff for their cooperation, dedication, and commitment. It has been a great pleasure working with you all and I am proud to be with you as a part of the successful team in our services to people with visual impairment.

Grace Chan 
Chief Executive

 

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China Projects - Update on Sight Restoration Campaign

 

In 1995, the Hong Kong Society for the Blind and the Asian Foundation for the Prevention of Blindness had initiated the Sight Restoration Campaign in China by constructing the first Mobile Eye Treatment Centre (METC) - Sight Care No.1- for donation to Shaanxi, METC Sight Care No.1, a self-contained vehicle, serves as a mobile eye surgical centre to perform surgery for poor cataract patients living in remote areas at their doorstep at low cost. After their eyesight had been restored, the patients can once again become contributing members of the nation. Between 1995 and 1998, a total of four METCs (Sight Care No.1 to 4) have been donated to the provinces of Shaanxi, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong respectively. As the demand for low cost cataract surgery is enormous in the Mainland, four more METCs with improved design and in the form of trailer have been donated to Heilunjiang, Shanxi, Yunnan and Sichuan respectively between 2002 and 2003. Thanks to the late Mr Y C Ho, all the construction and equipment costs of the above METCs were donated by him.

 

After in operation for nearly eight years, we are pleased to say that the METCs are able to perform on average 1,200 cataract surgery per year with some provinces even perform between 2,500 and 3,000 cases a year. It is estimated that over 10,000 cataract sufferers in the Mainland have their vision restored on METCs at low cost with 15% of whom free of charge.

 

In order to share and exchange their experience in operating the METCs, a report-back seminar is organized since 1999 and each province takes turn to host it. In the past report-back seminars, participating provinces have openly shared their operational experiences of the Centres. Although different provinces have their unique situations, it can be concluded that several factors are important to the successful operation of the Mobile Eye Treatment Centres. They include: support from Government, cooperation between different government and non-government organisations, good management skills, availability of dedicated ophthalmologists and related personnel, and adequate resources support for maintenance and daily operation. The challenge for the report-back seminars will be for the more experienced provinces to continue to improve their operation efficiency and expand the training and teaching function of the Centre. As for the newly joined provinces, this seminar provides a good forum for them to integrate the know-how shared by the more experienced provinces into their situation, and expedite the process to maximize the function of the Centre. Apart from information sharing, a one-day trainng programme is conducted concurrently with the Seminar. Eye care experts from the Mainland and Hong Kong were invited to conduct lectures to ophthalmologists on county level and a session to eye doctors on provincial level to talk about the latest development on new technology for eye surgery.

 

Since 2003, the teaching and training function of the METCs has been strengthened through systematic training of county level eye doctors on the METCs and equipping surgical units at the corresponding county level hospitals upon completion of training. Satisfactory results are seen in Shaanxi, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong. More such efforts will be extended to the other 4 provinces in the coming years.

We are very pleased to learn that our Sight Restoration Campaign - Mobile Eye Treatment Centre Model - is recognized by the Ministry of Health in the Mainland. They have now constructed 12 similar METCs and donated to 12 poor provinces in the north-west. The Ministry of Health suggested that as from this year onwards, 20 provinces should jointly organized the annual report-back seminars for the benefit of millions of poor needy cataract patients in the Mainland.

Grace Chan 
Chief Executive