Fifty year-4 students of our undergraduate PT and OT programmes responded to the call from The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) and RS, and take part in a scheme which enlists postsecondary students from healthcare-related disciplines to help with the frontline work at hostels for persons with disabilities and for the elderly, so as to alleviate the manpower shortage at these hostels. Twenty RS faculty members will also serve as online mentors to provide support for students at the back.
Under the 5th wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, there is an exponential surge of infections among hostel residents, which has exacerbated the manpower shortage in hostels for persons with disabilities and for the elderly. According to HKCSS, due to the current labour shortage, a majority of the residents have been “immobilised” in beds for a long period of time, which will indeed cause detrimental effects on their health.
With the help from donors, HKCSS has launched a scheme called “健康專業專上學生院舍工作計劃” in early March this year to tackle the situation. At RS, 50 year-4 students of our undergraduate PT and OT programmes have joined the scheme to show their readiness to provide healthcare services to the elderly and persons with disabilities. They will work at these hostels from mid-March to June 2022. Given their rehabilitation expertise, we believe they can contribute a lot to those in need in the aforesaid premises at the moment, especially in the provision of professional rehabilitation services to enhance the mobility of those “immobilised” hostel residents and to avoid complications caused by prolonged inactivity.
Students' Sharing
Year-4 student of BSc (Hons) in OT programme
Year-4 student of BSc (Hons) in PT programme
