ong Kong is proud to be hosting the 5th East Asian Games (EAG) from 5-13 December 2009. Just like the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Equestrian Events, the HA will be making an all-out effort to provide medical support to the EAG, in which about 4,000 athletes will compete in 287 events in front of 200,000 spectators. We are deeply honoured to be part of this large-scale international sports event, even though it places an enormous responsibility upon us. In this article, we'll tell you about the advance preparations that are already going on behind the scenes; and some of our HAHO colleagues who are responsible for them will share their experiences and feelings.

Dr PY Leung, our Director (Quality & Safety), is leading the HA Task Force for the EAG, which is co-ordinating our involvement in the event. Dr CC Lau, the Chief of Service (Accident & Emergency) at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, is responsible for co-ordinating relevant hospital medical services. During the EAG period, a number of designated hospitals (see table) will provide free A&E and in-patient hospital services to both athletes and officials. Dr Jimmy Chan, the Cluster Co-ordinator (Accident & Emergency) of New Territories East Cluster and Dr YY Chow, the Chief of Service (Orthopaedics and Traumatology) at Tuen Mun Hospital, are medical advisors on the planning and coordination of medical services in all the competition venues. In March and April, HAHO also recruited a number of our colleagues to provide voluntary medical services. The response was enthusiastic. Among the thousands of applicants, 65 doctors and 65 nurses were finally chosen to join the medical teams.

Now it's full steam ahead with the preparatory work. And our colleagues who are involved with the event will continue to make concerted efforts and bring their professionalism into full play. Let's all be good hosts to all the athletes and friends who will be coming from every corner of the world, and welcome them as they arrive to take part in this magnificent sports gathering!

"I'm having a hectic time in the office right now, handling work related to both human swine influenza and the EAG. For the latter, I've been busy recruiting colleagues as voluntary medical workers and making site visits to the competition venues. We also currently need to prepare uniforms for the medical teams, medical equipment and medical consumables. Then, we will be handling training drills and related matters. It's such a busy period for us! Last year's Olympic Equestrian Events were a huge success, so we feel we're under pressure to do equally well this year. As a Hong Kong citizen, I'm very proud to be part of this sports gathering. We will all do our best, and we hope every aspect of the EAG will go smoothly."

"I was an A&E nurse at PYNEH before I transferred to HAHO in May. I'm a bit anxious about being responsible of such a large-scale project, yet I'm also delighted because it means I can gain exposure to a different type of work. Our teammates are working together, discussing and trying to resolve any potential difficulties in advance, and this helps to alleviate the pressure on us a great deal. At the same time, my unique past experience of having been a volunteer at last year's Olympic Equestrian Events is helping me to do my preparatory work now."

"I joined the HA in early May, and I'm responsible for administrative work related to the EAG, including site visits to competition venues and ensuring that we have Wi-Fi Internet access services there, as well as handling official competition venue pass applications. I'm a bit concerned that our workload will increase considerably as we get closer to the date of the Opening Ceremony. But, fortunately, I know that I and my colleagues will always help one another, and we will display a strong team spirit. I think this is a very suitable job for youngsters!"