Newsletter No. 112

2 No. 112 19th September 1997 CUHK Newsletter Summer School for Mainland Pathologists The Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology organized the second summer school for pathologists from mainland China from 24th July to 4th August. A total of 67 practising pathologists from medical schools and hospitals in 33 mainland cities attended the function wh i ch offered a comprehensive didactic course in diagnostic pathology. The course teachers included academics and specialists from the University, the University of British Columbia, Be i j i ng Medical University, the Chinese PLA General Hospital, and West China University of Medical Sciences. The course was supported by a generous donation from The Fok Ying Tung Foundation. Chung Chi Programme Promotes Cooperation Among Chinese Communities Students from Fudan University in Shanghai and Tunghai University in Taiwan visited Chung Chi College from 25th August to 4th September, marking the beginning of the college's exchange visit programme with institutions from the two regions. Sponsored by the Asian Care Charity Foundation Ltd., the programme aims at fostering understanding and cooperation between Chinese communities. The delegations, led by Profs. Zhou Fan and Wang Wei of Fudan University, and Profs. Tseng Hua-yuen and Chien Liang-yu of Tunghai University, participated in four seminars and visited such places as Oriental Press Group Ltd., Breakthrough Youth Village, the ICAC, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and the Hong Kong Futures Exchange. They also discussed with students from Chung Chi College the economic and cultural developments of Chinese communities. Every Unit for Itself and the Safety Manager for Us All New Perspectives on Safety A New Office to Look After Campus Safety 'We help protect the University's most important asset — people,' said Jonathan Amies, safety manager of the University's new Safety Office. Mr. Amies, who is concurrently the chief laboratory safety officer, said the new office was more than just a response to the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance which became law in late May: ' About a year and a ha lf ago, the Administrative A f f a i rs Committee ( AAC) wanted to know whether the University was adequately covered for areas outside lab safety. A Task Force on Campus Safety was subsequently set up and the Safety Office evolved from there. We knew the new legislation was arriving and this was an initiative well before that.' To redefine and clarify lines of responsibility and use of resources so that safety targets can be met, a safety policy has been drawn up. The policy empowers the safety manager to handle situations both inside and outside the laboratory: he can f o r b id the use o f dangerous substances, procedures, or instruments, and to shut down laboratories or sites anywhere in the University. Under the new policy, issues of different nature are dealt with at different levels. The Administrative and Planning Committee handles overall po l i cy matters, and is responsible for ultimate adjudication in cases of dispute. The Committee of Laboratory Safety and its three safety advisory subcommittees — radiation and electrical, chemicals/ carcinogens, and biological — look after safety matters related to laboratories. And, under the aegis of the AAC, the Environmental Protection Monitoring Group is responsible for issues related to environmental protection on campus, including the running of canteens and kitchens. The New Concept of Shared Responsibility Operating under the guiding principle that safety is the responsibility of every individual staff and student w i t h in the University, one o f the distinguishing characteristics of the safety policy is shared responsibility. 'It's easy to say that "safety is everybody's responsibility". But the flip side of the coin is that "safety is nobody's responsibility". The ball must not be allowed to fall between courts,' Mr. Amies pointed out. The new policy enacts this ideal by making individual teaching departments and units w i t h in the University responsible for placing safety as a top priority in their own budgetary planning, and to adjust allocations to other activities when the need arises. Mr. Amies continued, 'Since the heads of departments and units control the budget, they need to set up internal mechanisms that ensure safety within their unit or department. This means that they will manage safety like they do teaching and research. From my meetings with them, my impression is that some of them think the idea presents difficulties while others are very enthusiastic. It will be a learning experience for everyone.' But that is not all. Various administrative units are delegated special responsibility for various aspects of safety. For example, the Buildings Office and the Security Unit are responsible for fire prevention and fighting, the Security Unit for road management, the Transport Unit for bus operation, and the University Health Service for first aid, emergency care, and statutory reporting requirements. Teaching departments and units are encouraged to consult the relevant office(s) when engaging in activities related to safety. Requests for non-recurrent resources to enhance safety can also be directed to designated offices and committees, depending on the nature o f the request. These include the Buildings Office, the Academic Equipment Grants Committee, and the Resource Allocation Committee. 'Safety is a mammoth field,' explained Mr. Amies, 'so even though we're safety "experts", we can't handle all areas of campus safety at the same time. You can't have amonster of a safety department. And even if you do, you can't be everywhere all the time. We can set guidelines and be available — in fact we do have a 24-hour emergency service —but people need to look after themselves.' To Help Those Who Help Themselves 'We train people to look after themselves,' Mr. Amies said. Formally set up in July 1997, the Safety Office has since taken over the function of training previously handled by the Lab Safety Office. Last year the Lab Safety Office organized a large-scale training programme for 200 technicians of the University. Specialist trainers and experts from around Hong Kong were hired specially to teach six different subjects. Programmes of a similar scale and nature will be organized by the Safety Office. The Safety Office will also continue to work with University departments or units to run training programmes, such as the four-session training programme for postgraduates initiated by the Graduate School. The programme trains postgraduates in four safety areas: general, chemical, biological, and radiation. 'Postgraduates tend to work on their own and are often involved in minding other classes, hence it's important that they have the right expertise,' Mr. Amies explained. The main problem with organizing training programmes for staff is time as they all have important duties on hand. But Mr. Amies has found a way around it: 'Safety training for staffhas to be short, specific, and unobtrusive. Having been the manager of a facility myself, I know no unit can afford to lose all its staff for safety training for two days in a row. So what we did was run the courses over and over again for 90 minutes at a time.' Besides, as Mr. Amies understandingly put it, 'No one can sit down and listen to safety for a whole day, especially i f you're worried about your work.' The new office is planning to run train-the-trainer type programmes for more 'soft-core' safety, such as office safety. These programmes not only build staff up to take safety into their own hands, but also provides flexibility and interest. ' You don't want the Safety Office to do all the training all the time,' said Mr. Amies. 'The trainers generated by our programmes will adopt different approaches. This makes training more interesting and enjoyable. Besides staff should know how to ensure basic safety in their office, e.g., ventilation, changing the cartridges of a photocopier, awareness of ozone, procedures of operating a computer, the right way to sit at a computer desk. These programmes should be run regularly. The University has been very supportive in providing the necessary financial resources.' None the Busier? In its external capacity, the Safety Office, as was the Laboratory Safety Office, is a member of the Tertiary Institutions Safety Advisory Group (TISAG). Mr. Amies w i ll continue to meet regularly with the safety managers of other universities in Hong Kong to discuss problems common to the institutions, of which ventilation and the shortage of space are especially pertinent. Having joined the University in July 1994, Mr. Amies feels that he has learnt a lot from the staff at the University and 'assumes that the feeling is reciprocated'. Given a broader range of duties but greater delegations of responsibility to University units across the board, does he think his job as safety manager will be busier? ' I don't think I can be much busier, but a lot more will get done as others learn to handle their area,' was his reply. Piera Chen

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