Founded by Dr. Lucy Lord and Dr. Rulin Fuong, internationally trained doctors with over 20 years of living and working in Hong Kong to provide healthcare to the international and local community. During this time they gained a clear view of areas where patients were falling through gaps in the system. Many non-local patients are particularly vulnerable because they are unaware of discrepancies between Hong Kong’s medical system and health care available in their home countries.
The Patient Care Foundation was established to help address areas where differences in Hong Kong’s health care provision from other global cities such as London, New York or Sydney might adversely impact vulnerable groups. As an over-arching charity it supports projects which reduce the impact differences of origin, culture, language, age and disability can have on accessing appropriate healthcare.
The four projects that are ongoing and have been identified as priorities for 2015 are as follows.
Rhesus negative blood
GROUP: Female population of childbearing age and younger
PROJECT: To expand the number of public and private hospitals that keep a constant supply of rhesus negative blood available for unexpected emergencies, particularly in maternity cases. Essential healthcare for Refugees and Asylum Seekers
GROUP: Hong Kong’s Refugees and Asylum Seekers
PROJECT: Central Health Medical Practice has been providing on a pro bono basis health care for refugees and asylum seekers. However the need has grown significantly over the last 4 years and although doctors give their time for free, essential drugs and investigations need to be funded.
Charter for children in hospital
GROUP: Children under eight who are admitted to government hospitals and whose parents or carers are not allowed to stay with them
PROJECT: To source simple fold – away, hygienic mattresses and bedding to allow a parent or carer to stay with any young child who is admitted to hospital whilst causing as little disruption to the clinical work of the ward as possible. To educate doctors nurses and parents as to the devastating traumatic and long term effects of separation of young children from their carers, particularly during illness
Mental health care
GROUPS: Minority groups are particularly vulnerable but all mentally ill individuals in Hong Kong encounter discrimination and poor resources.
PROJECT: To partner with MIND, a respected British charity with a 65 year track record, to leverage their significant experience in providing support and information to those with mental health problems and join with them to help de-stigmatize mental illness in Hong Kong.
We need all kinds of help, not just financial.
We are pleased to have appointed Kimberley Ho as our temporary executive director. She will be coordinating the charity’s initial projects, and most importantly recruiting a permanent executive director. The executive director post will be part time.
We would ideally like to recruit someone who is taking leave from their full-time career and wants to do something worthwhile.
If you are interested in the executive director post for the PCF, please email your CV to enquiries@patientcarefoundation.com.hk
We also need other expertise on a short project basis; for example: IT to help our website, PR fundraising, Government Liaison, legal advisors as well as support and volunteers for the specific projects.
If you have personal experience of the concerns relating to our projects, email us with your stories. If you support particular projects just email your support. Information is power and increasing transparency and awareness is key to improving healthcare.
Rhesus negative Blood:
If you know you are rhesus-negative, and use a particular hospital, write to them and ask them how much rhesus negative blood they carry in their blood bank in case of unexpected emergency. Please register with us if you are prepared to donate your rhesus-negative blood (particularly O-negative). We will forward your offer to the Red Cross. We would like to monitor numbers of rhesus-negative donors available in Hong Kong.
Register at blood@patientcarefoundation.com.hk
Refugees
We are desperately short of patient advocates/ translators/ helpers to accompany refugees and help them access the medical help they need at government clinics and hospitals. Translation can be difficult and we would welcome anyone with language skills in French, Arabic, Somali, Tamil, Singhalese, Farsi, to please register with us at refugees@patientcarefoundation.com.hk
Children in hospital
We again need advocates to help parents stay with their children when they are in hospital. Parents who are refused access to their sick children may need an advocate to determine if their exclusion is medically necessary.
Register at children@patientcarefoundation.com.hk
Mental health
We are very grateful that MIND, the UK’s largest mental health charity, has agreed a joint venture to provide essential mental health resources to patients in Hong Kong. We hope to raise funds to expand MIND’s website, adapted as a bilingual Chinese-English resource that will provide information about mental health resources available in Hong Kong. We will be raising funds to translate MIND’s huge support library into Chinese. If any of you have written translation skills we would also like to provide key advice in other languages.
Register at mentalhealth@patientcarefoundation.com.hk
What else can you do:
If you would like to donate or volunteer in any of the above, please email enquiries@patientcarefoundation.com.hk