Subcommittees
Working Group on Urban Air Quality and Health
The President convened a group involving colleagues from HKIA, Hong Kong Paediatric Society, Hong Kong Thoracic Society, Hong Kong Asthma Society, Hong Kong Society of Paediatric Respirology and Allergy Association of Hong Kong as well as a few lay people to work with the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of HKSAR Government on urban atmospheric pollution.
They have met once already with Ms. Christine Loh (Environment Under-secretary for Government), a number of Department officers and scientific collaborators to hear about EPD's strategies and future plans. A future direction of travel was agreed and comprises:
(a) advise on ways to increase public engagement and to encourage the community to take more responsibility for personal exposure;
(b) advise on any further clinical research studies at the science/health interface that could be undertaken to engage the public interest;
(c) advise on any strategies to engage the medical and allied health professions to promote public health policies on pollution;
(d) advise on how to assess outcomes from advice provided by the group and if unsuccessful the reason(s) why and how to remedy.
In the last few months HKIA has been helping EPD create 6 video clips for broadcasting on TV covering various topics on Outdoor Pollution. Dr. Roland Leung was featured in the first episode teaching about the nature of pollution. These clips will be released in mid-year after further editing. If well received another series on Indoor Pollution will be produced in 2017.
The Allergy Alliance
There is a global epidemic of allergic diseases and Hong Kong
is not spared. In recent years it has become increasingly clear
that there are insufficient Allergy specialists in Hong Kong to
meet the clinical demand. It is equally obvious that there are
an inadequate number of Immunology and Allergy trainees coming
through the training programmes and in adult medicine the situation
is dire. One might even wonder very reasonably how one could train
future Allergy specialists when there are insufficient trainers.
In addition and regrettably as the clinical burden is so heavy
there is little time or capacity to generate new knowledge to
advance understanding of allergic diseases to develop novel approaches
to therapy. This problem is not unique to Hong Kong and a number
of countries face similar problems.
Against this background, Dr Tak Hong Lee convened a meeting for
clinicians, allied health professionals and others with an interest
in Allergy in March 2014. This group is now named the "Allergy
Alliance". The participants were drawn from academia; HA
hospitals; private practitioners; representative from HA; Hong
Kong Institute of Allergy; HK Thoracic Society; the Charity Allergy
HK; and drug company representatives.
There was a consensus to develop a case for growing the discipline
of Allergy. Nonetheless it felt essential by members of the Allergy
Alliance that an authoritative review should be written first
to summarise the epidemiology as well as current provision of
Allergy services and training in Hong Kong. Further discussions
with the major stakeholders to seek a way forward could then proceed
in an informed manner.
This review of "Allergy in Hong Kong - an Unmet Need in Service
Provision and Training" has been completed. It has been circulated
widely to all stakeholders including Chairman of Hospital Authority,
Department of Health, all Colleges of the Academy of Medicine,
Hong Kong Academy of Medicine, charities in allergy, paediatrics,
respiratory medicine and asthma. Review: Click
Here
In December 2014 Dr Lee was elected President of the HKIA and
the Institute's new strategic direction overlapped
completely with that of the HK Allergy Alliance. To avoid duplication
of work It was decided in Nov 2015, with the Alliance members'
agreement, to disband the Alliance and to subsume its activities
into the Service Development, Education and Research Subcommittees
of the HKIA.
