PolyU and Fire Services Department sign MoU to nurture young generations

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Fire Services Department (FSD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to establish a collaborative partnership in jointly organising a training course on fundamentals of emergency care and critical response by the School of Nursing of PolyU and the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy (FASA).

The course will equip students with the skills and knowledge of the application of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillators (AEDs), as well as fire safety measures and emergency evacuation procedures. The aim is to further strengthen the awareness of community emergency preparedness in a bid to enhance the efficiency of life-saving treatments.

The School of Nursing at PolyU has been pursuing academic excellence of practical value in nursing and healthcare services, while the FSD has long been formulating and implementing strategies on community emergency preparedness. The collaboration will help the FSD to further promote the “three basic skills on emergency preparedness" (namely Extinguish and Prevent Fire, Self-help and Help Others and Escape and Evacuate) in the community and also foster the culture of "self-help and help others" in the wider community.

Witnessed by Prof. David SHUM, Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences of PolyU, and Mr Andy YEUNG, Director of FSD, the MoU was signed by Prof. Engle Angela CHAN, Interim Head of the School of Nursing of PolyU, and Mr YIU Men-yeung, the Commandant of the FASA.

Prof. David Shum said, “We thank FSD for its unwavering support for the training course. The collaborative course will be included as a credit-bearing course in the curriculum of General Studies for all PolyU students in meeting the needs of the community. The course would also enhance students’ vigilance and problem-solving abilities and cultivate a spirit of mutual assistance and care among them.”

Mr Andy Yeung said, “We hope the training course would enhance students' competence and confidence in saving patients from cardiac arrest, and strengthen the support for local patients with cardiac arrest to receive timely rescue in the community so as to increase their chances of survival. The MoU also signifies the sustainable co-operation of both sides in providing diversified learning opportunities in different aspects to nurture more outstanding young generations in Hong Kong.”

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