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SCMP Reporter

Broader view of family medicine is now needed
I refer to your editorial ('Medical schools should cater to society's needs', November 18) and to remarks that the University of Hong Kong can do more to enhance the training of more doctors in  family medicine.
I agree that Hong Kong needs more doctors to specialise in family medicine. But family medicine as a speciality cannot be built and sustained unless a broader view of  it is taken into account. By that I mean  emphasis 'on taking care of the person as a whole' and its interconnectedness, not only to medical specialities but also to interdisciplinary contribution from the nursing and social work professions.  
Notwithstanding the fact that projection of manpower in terms of the numbers of family medicine specialists required at any period is a calculated estimate, it is salutary to note  that the Li Ka Shing faculty of medicine has put into place two initiatives which provide a strong foundation to produce family medicine specialists who are capable on taking care of the needs of the person as a whole.
One of these initiatives  is the creation of a task force in medical humanities to plan and integrate the teaching of medical humanities into and as part of the core undergraduate medical curriculum.  This is a first for an undergraduate medical school in Asia. Medical humanities utilises what the  humanities can offer to medicine.  It ensures doctors, with their biomedical knowledge and skills, can also understand the nature and meaning of suffering beyond illness  and deliver humanistic care and healing to their patients. 
It  also enables doctors to better care for themselves in the face of complexities of medical practices. This includes  huge workloads, unrealistic expectations and dealing with uncertainties.
The  second initiative  also impacts on the quality of care to the patients and support to their families. The faculty has recognised that the contribution from the nursing and social work professions is pivotal towards providing optimal care.  The medical school has in place interdisciplinary teaching and learning between medical and nursing students, and  between medical and social work students.
It is timely that further strengthening of the training of family medicine specialists takes into account that the practice of medicine, in particularly family medicine, rests on the recognition and wisdom that medicine is both an art and a science; and of the interconnectedness which disciplines, medical and its allies, can bring together to enhance patient care.
L. C. Chan, co-director, centre of the humanities and medicine, University of Hong Kong
Group helps with grieving
Your report on research on grieving after family suicides ('Men lag behind in grieving over family suicides', November 14) mentioned that 962 people killed themselves last year in Hong Kong. Official figures show that more than 5,000 people committed suicide in the five years up 2006. This is a likely underestimate because of many unreported, hidden or unproven suicides.
It is widely recognised that for every  suicide there are at least six people seriously affected by devastating feelings of loss, feelings perhaps made worse because of the stigma attached to suicide and misunderstanding of its causes. Your report mentions that men find it more difficult than women to talk about their loss and we are indebted to the work being done at Baptist University in Project Bless.
The Samaritans 24-Hour Multilingual Suicide Prevention Service also runs a support group for those bereaved by the suicide of someone close to them. 
The group is English speaking and aims to provide a safe, confidential environment in which bereaved people can share their experiences and feelings, giving and receiving support from each other.  It meets on the first Wednesday of each month, 8pm, at the Mariner's Club (Middle Road, Tsim Sha Tsui). If any readers of this letter would like to attend please call the Samaritans, tel: 2896 0000,  or check our website for further information (www.samaritans.org.hk/).
Tim Sollis, director, Samaritans, Hong Kong
Hirohito was no lover of peace
I refer to the report ('Emperor Akihito defends father's wartime record, saying he was a man of peace', November 13).
While marking his 20 years on the throne, Emperor Akihito made strange remarks about his father, the wartime emperor Hirohito.
He said his father had 'opposed Japan's march to war' and 'had taken to heart the importance of maintaining peace' after visiting a first world war battlefield.
During the second world war, while he was emperor, his soldiers invaded China and other Asian countries and committed atrocities. 
The present emperor should at least apologise to those countries whose citizens suffered from these atrocities, rather than honouring his father.
I hope that Emperor Akihito and his successors will never forget the victims of the Nanking Massacre in China in 1937.
K. M. Nasir, Mid-Levels
Teachers face so much pressure
The government must begin to recognise the increasingly heavy workload faced by teachers in our schools.
If it continues to ignore this problem, then it can only get worse. The pressure on teachers has grown over the last 10 years.  Most of them do a 10-hour day at school and that does not take into account the work they take home.  
Sometimes I have seen teachers marking children's books on public transport. 
The workload they face is now excessive and we must act. We have a good opportunity to improve the quality of education we provide to our children by the introduction of small-class teaching in our  schools. 
The government should not resist the move to this form of education. It has worked in a number of countries and our children would benefit if it was introduced in our schools.  
Wendy Ng, Hung Hom
Buses bring more pollution
I refer to the report ('Easing of visa rules in Shenzhen next month set to boost tourism', November 19).  It is estimated that  about 90 per cent of eligible people will come to Hong Kong.  
Even if that estimate is wrong, something must be done now to stop the thousands of tourist buses coming from the mainland. They park everywhere and leave their engines running, even when there are no passengers or drivers.  
I urge traffic police to  go to the junction of Arran Street and Portland Street, Mong Kok,  behind the Metropark Hotel.  The air is really bad. The roadside air pollution index is taken just a few metres away  and it is high at all hours.  Our government seems to be solely concerned with the revenue these tourists will bring to Hong Kong. It has not considered  the revenue that will be lost through the cost of hospitals treating those people who have to breathe in these fumes every day.  
Priorities must be changed and something must be done as with more coaches coming, the problem can only get worse.  
Suzanne Spencer, Jordan
New cars will not clean up air
Electric cars are being built to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide created by ordinary cars.
However, there will still be problems with these vehicles.  
Electric cars run on batteries which have to be charged.  
This would appear to be more environmentally friendly than cars running on petrol. However, the electric vehicles consume more electricity, which means more pollution from the coal-fired power stations in Hong Kong. Therefore, we will still have a problem with air quality. 
I do not think these new cars will help us in the fight against air pollution. 
We need to look at the root of the problem and use less, not more, electricity.  
Becky Ip Wai-ling, Sha Tin
Make citizens more aware
The plastic bag levy has been successful and I urge the government to come up with more environmentally-friendly campaigns.  
Unless the government takes the initiative people will not do anything. 
They will feel that such issues are none of their business.  
For example, until the plastic bag levy was introduced, many shoppers would not bring recyclable bags.  
When the administration introduces such legislation, it gives its citizens an incentive to act and they become more willing to do their bit to protect the environment.  
Raising  people's environmental awareness is something that officials must do gradually.  
Jessica Chau Wai-kuen, Sha Tin 
Random checks
Last month Greenpeace issued a report entitled 'Hazardous Chemical Pollution of the Pearl River'.
It targeted three enterprises which it said were polluting the river by  discharging industrial sewage, containing heavy metals and carcinogenic substances.
One of the  companies said its company had invested in a sewage processing system endorsed by the Dongguan government and passed by its inspectors.
I believe that these inspections are far from satisfactory and must be improved. 
Industrial discharges into the river can be regulated through random and frequent inspections. 
This would mean companies would have to keep their processing systems functioning all the time, rather than just turning them on when there was an inspection.  
Siu Lok-fai, Sha Tin



Letters