A's 20th anniversary celebrations have been hailed as a huge success as both staff and public have taken part in the festivities. While a host of events have already taken place to commemorate this milestone, the "Thank the Volunteers Day" on 19 May will be a finale to cap off the year-long celebrations.

To be staged at Queen Elizabeth Stadium, the meaningful event is an opportune time for us to show recognition to our 18,000-strong volunteers who have been helping us in many ways, such as hospital visit, patient escort, general support, bereavement care, home visit and spiritual support.

To make the anniversary even more memorable, a commemoration volume featuring stories written by our frontline staff will be launched in May this year to make known of HA staff's professionalism, dedication and compassion in caring for their patients. Interviews with past and present HA Chairmen and Chief Executives will also be recorded in the book.

To review our anniversary celebration, please check it out at this website: www3.ha.org.hk/HA20/en/index.htm

	"Be Happy…Stay Healthy" photo competition (August 2010)
	Essay writing competition
	Gala dinner (November 2010)
	Roving exhibition (December 2011 - February 2012)

anpower shortage is a great challenge in HA. One of the effective ways to retain staff is to develop personal growth opportunities. To align with the development of both corporate and employees, the management of HA has reviewed the overall training and development strategies in a bid to improve the corporate efficiency and provide a better training plan for frontline staff.

The Training and Development Central Committee, made up of members from different professions and divisions, was set up in last August. Led by Dr Derrick Au, head of human resources, the committee will set the direction of training and development.

"All the training programmes we have in HA are very practical and applicable. However they used to be fragmented and lack of a broader vision," said Dr Au.

Both long-term and urgent training needs of clinical and non-clinical staff at different ranks have been discussed and analysed in the committee meetings over the past few months. The professional growth needs of staff, HA's prioritisation principles and hospital operations have all been taken into account when designing programmes.

Dr Au said, "We understand there was always a problem of manpower arrangement in frontline when it comes to training. The committee will look into that and facilitate the arrangement."

The Committee is working hard to make sure that resources are used efficiently, and appropriate staff development is in place. Let's work together to build an outstanding, competent and happy team in HA!