r Chan Wai-hung — who is more commonly known to his colleagues as Uncle Hung — left school and started work at an early age. He later joined the public sector with the aim of serving the community. His willingness to assist others has remained unchanged since he became an HA staff member in 1994.

Uncle Hung joined the Critical Incident Support Team (CIST) of the Kowloon Central Cluster in 2006, in order to support colleagues who are experiencing emotional difficulties. CIST members need to attend basic counselling training provided by Oasis — the Centre for Personal Growth & Crisis Intervention of HAHO, before they can qualify to provide psychological first aid to the others. Uncle Hung was very serious about the training, despite the language barrier: all the training materials were in English. But this did not deter him. He asked his boss to help him by translating the materials into Chinese. That was how Uncle Hung achieved his goal of becoming a CIST member, and he now plays a very active role in its promotional activities.

Uncle Hung has also helped to establish a branch of Oasis in the Workplace in his department (i.e. the Pre-admission Section). He collects beautiful photos from his colleagues, adds inspiring quotations, and then posts them on the notice board. His colleagues welcome the way he helps to build a positive atmosphere in the workplace, and they enthusiastically contribute their pictures and stories. And whenever he reads a touching or meaningful article, he displays that too, so that other members of his team can share it.

A founding member of CIST (first from the right in the third row).

Although Uncle Hung always regards himself as a person with little learning, all those he works with at Queen Elizabeth Hospital see him as polite, modest, hardworking and responsible. What's more, he did not learn these qualities in a classroom. He is not just a team player but also a team builder. He often creates opportunities for other staff members to share with and learn from one another. To this end, he invites colleagues to go hiking with him at weekends, and he has even teamed up with medical staff to take part in the Standard Chartered Marathon and Oxfam Trailwalker. He is like a powerful magnet that draws his team's members more closely together.

While he was delighted to have been selected as an Outstanding Staff Member, Uncle Hung feels unworthy of the honour. "I would never have received it without my boss nominating me, and the support of my colleagues," he says. In fact, it has been his unswerving commitment to his personal philosophy of "respecting your boss, being loyal to your job, and being polite to the others" that has won him the love and support of his superiors and colleagues!