Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) is a voluntary medical and health services provider in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. Its mission is to supply effectively and efficiently regular services to maintain the health and well-being of people in Hong Kong.
History
The Hong Kong Government decided to form the Auxiliary Medical Service in order to create a force that could assist the regular medical services during emergencies.
The establishment of the AMS was announced in the government gazette on 22 December 1950.
In early 1951 the AMS made a call for volunteers, including ordinary people who could be trained as auxiliary nurses, ambulance drivers, and other roles.
As the population of Hong Kong swelled with refugees from China in the post-
Chinese Communist Revolution
The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...
years, many lived in substandard housing areas susceptible to fires, landslips, storms, and other disasters, for which the AMS played a role in delivering emergency medical treatment. In the 1950s, AMS worked with
St. John Ambulance
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...
to establish first aid posts all around the territory.
The AMS was involved in major events like the
Shek Kip Mei Fire in 1953,
Typhoon Wendy in 1962 and
landslides caused by heavy rainstorms in 1972. It also served during
SARS
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease of zoonotic origin caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), the first identified strain of the SARS coronavirus species, ''sever ...
in Hong Kong in 2003 and
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...
. Normally, it sends out volunteers to fireworks displays, marathons, and other major events.
In 1983, AMS became an independent government operation branch under the
Security Department of the Government Secretariat. A public hotline for enquiry about the services of AMS and a Non-Emergency Ambulance Transport team were set up in 1995 and 1996 respectively. The
Youth Ambassador A youth ambassador is a young agent, representative and/or steward for the charity for which they work.Anaphylaxis CampaignYouth Ambassadors/ref>
Youth ambassadors have been introduced in order to promote participation, or spread goodwill or knowle ...
Scheme has also been implemented in 1997 with the objectives to encourage young people to have a healthy lifestyle and promote a sense of civic duties.
As of 2007, the number of volunteers had grown to 4,418.
Auxiliary Medical Service
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Fleet
A list of vehicles used in the past and present:
Past
* Land Rover
Land Rover is a British brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR currently builds Land Rovers ...
Defender ambulances
* Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
T1 E-310 ambulances
* Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
Coaster ambulance
* Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
CBX750 motorcycle
* BMW R850RT motorcycle
Present
* Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
Sprinter 516CDI ambulance
* Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa
Rosa or De Rosa may refer to:
People
*Rosa (given name)
* Rosa (surname)
*Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose)
Places
*223 Rosa, an asteroid
*Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States
* Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, G ...
ambulance
* BMW R900RT motorcycle
* Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
Urvan Mobile Command Post (MCP)
* Merida Mountain Bike (CRU)
Organisation
The Auxiliary Medical Service has over 4,700 uniformed members, and is divided into six columns:
* HQ Column
* Operations Wing 1
** Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
Operating Region
** Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
East Operating Region
** Kowloon West Operating Region
* Operations Wing 2
** New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
East Operating Region
** New Territories West Operating Region
* Training and Development Column
* Medical and Paramedic Column
* Logistics and Support Column
The headquarters column is composed of civil service staff of the AMS.
The operations wings are responsible for frontline work and account for the majority of members.
The training and development column is responsible for providing first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
, evacuation, and infection control training to all members.
The medical and paramedic column is responsible for the Health Protection Section (HPU), Emergency Task Force, and Reserve Personnel Section. Its members are professional doctors, nurses, and professionally trained personnel. In the event of a major incident, the medical and paramedic column will provide personnel to lead in rescue and medical efforts.
The logistics and support column is responsible for the delivery of materials and members to stations and incidents, as well as the welfare of members of the AMS. Public relations and the Band of the AMS are also the responsibility of the logistics and support column.
Emergency cycling team
The First Aid Bicycle Team () was established in 2002. First aid cyclists provide first aid services on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays for people travelling to Tai Po
Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Market") on the north of Lam Tsue ...
, Ma On Shan
Ma On Shan may refer to:
* Ma On Shan (peak) ( zh, t=馬鞍山, s=马鞍山, l=saddle peak, links=no), a mountain in the New Territories of Hong Kong
* Ma On Shan (town), a New Town in the New Territories on the foot of Ma On Shan mountain
* Ma On ...
, and Shatin
Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project.
The ne ...
.
The First Aid Bicycle Team is divided into the following sections:
* Shatin Section
* Ma On Shan Section
* Whitehead Section
* Tai Po Section
* Tai Po Seaside Section
* Sheung Shui Section
Crest
The current crest of the force was adopted in 1997 to replace most of the colonial symbols on the old crest (c. 1950):
* St Edward's Crown
St Edward's Crown is the centrepiece of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. Named after Saint Edward the Confessor, versions of it have traditionally been used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronations since the 13th cen ...
replaced with Bauhinia
''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and Jo ...
* Laurel wreath retained but wording AMS replaced with "醫療輔助隊"
* Motto with wording "Hong Kong" replaced with "Auxiliary Medical Services"
Source
Auxiliary Medical Service (Hong Kong)
Auxiliary Medical Service Cadet Corps
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1950 establishments in Hong Kong
Emergency medical services in Hong Kong
Medical and health organisations based in Hong Kong
Organizations established in 1950
Medical volunteerism