hroughout the years that Ms Sabina Leung has been serving mentally handicapped people, she has always sought to improve the quality of care that they receive by promoting the Normalisation Principle and emphasising their individual needs and rights.

Ms Leung has also dedicated herself to staff training, especially nursing for the mentally handicapped. More than 10 years ago, she played a key role in the introduction of the key worker system and individual programme planning in order to broaden the range of patients' life experiences and improve their quality of life.

To this end, she initiated the Social Education Unit of Siu Lam Hospital (SLH), which organises structured training and leisure activities for them, in 1990. In 1996, she sought a donation from The Hong Kong Jockey Club to create a Multi-sensory Room. More recently, she and her team members have established a Computer-aided Rehabilitation Training Room and tailor-made programmes to ensure that mentally handicapped people are not left on the kerbside of the information technology highway.

In 1996, Ms Leung was awarded an MBE in recognition of her contributions to staff training and her services to the mentally handicapped. Being selected as an Outstanding Staff Member is yet another milestone for her. Yet she humbly says it was simply a matter of luck.

"I attended courses on nursing for the mentally handicapped in England more than 20 years ago. I realised that what I had learnt could be practised in Hong Kong. That's why I have worked so hard in this area. And my colleagues at SLH are so supportive of my efforts. In fact, all of them deserve the title of 'Outstanding Staff Member'."

Mentally handicapped people are less able to express themselves than others. Even so, Ms Leung puts her belief in greater communication and care into practice. She asks them questions like: "Is the lunch today delicious or not?" or "Is the water from the shower tap too hot?" She believes patients feel your respect for them when there is better interaction and communication. "Working in the healthcare profession, we should combine passion for our work with respect for our clients and their families. Think of the patient first!" she adds.

Without doubt, Ms Leung is a brilliant exemplar of the "putting-people-first" philosophy.