[本文只供英語版本。]

The first session of the Fundamental Disaster Response Course was kicked off on 9 May 2015 with a total of 37 participants, including doctors and nurses in the field of emergency medicine, registered for the course.

The course was officially opened by speeches given by Dr Lau Chor-chiu, Honorary Secretary of Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and Dr Ho Hiu-fai, President of Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine. Our first overseas speaker from Japan - Dr Satoko Otsu, Director of Infectious Diseases Department, Japanese Red Cross Society, provided an overview of medical management of disaster, and needs assessment specifically on the handling of primary and secondary data. Miss Eleanor Lam, former Head of Field Operations (Sichuan) of  Hong Kong Red Cross, shared with us her experience in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Dr Kevin Hung of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, and Miss Esther Yiu, a Hong Kong Red Cross Professional Volunteer, also delivered talks to the participants later in the day.

The full course consists of five full days with classroom learning, case studies and a one-day drill on the last day of training on 12 December 2015.