PolyU is cooperating in the manufacture of prostheses with West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Courtesy of PolyU

Sichuan remains in urgent need of prosthetists and other rehabilitation experts. Fifty-thousand people became disabled as a result of the massive earthquake. Eight thousand lost limbs.

There are currently 375 registered prosthetists on the mainland, far below the standard of 6,500 set by the World Health Organization. Only 10 out of the 375 prosthetists are serving in Sichuan. The areas needs at least 475, said Polytechnic University (PolyU) health technology and informatics department head Arthur Mak.

To help the province acquire more prosthetists, the university has secured HK$4.3 million from the Hong Kong government to provide both short-term and long-term training in collaboration with Sichuan University (SichuanU).

The short-term training will be conducted six times, with 20 students in each.

The long-term program to be launched in September aims to produce 60 prosthetics and orthotics in 2012.

"We really need to train more prosthetists for the province," Mak said. "Amputees will prefer sitting on wheelchairs if the prosthesis do not fit."

Merely having prosthesics is not enough. Amputees need their muscles trained. That training requires the help of physiotherapists.

PolyU rehabilitation sciences associate head Alice Jones said the department will also coorporate with SichuanU to establish long-term training of physiotherapists and occupational therapists. The university expects to produce 40 such experts in 2012. It has secured HK$6.1 million from the SAR government for the project.

Jones said the current training of physiotherapists and occupational therapists on the mainland is not formalized.

"We hope to help providing therapists whose training is up to international standard," Jones said.

Students admitted to the program will undergo two years of basic training, followed by 2,100 hours of specialized training over another two years. But students admitted in the coming September will skip the first year of studies.

The university associate vice president Angelina Yuen said there also are plans to open an institute of post-disaster re-construction and management in conjunction with SichuanU to coordinate all related training.

Yuen said the institute serves as a platform for the two universities to share data, offer training courses and conduct research on post-disaster management.

Telecommunication technologies will be used for teaching, she added.

Yuen estimated that the cost for establishing the institute will be more than HK$100 million, and the university may seek additional government funding.

The university expects the institute will be able to help if another natural disaster hits the nation, Yuen added.

(HK Edition 05/12/2009 page2)