Taiwan medical volunteers receive praise from Prime Minister King
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Contact: Embassy of Taiwan
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 – Honourable Stephenson King, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, spared half an hour from his weekly cabinet meeting to meet with six medical volunteers from the Changhua Christian Hospital, Republic of China (Taiwan) who had served at St. Jude Hospital for a period of three weeks and were scheduled to return to Taiwan on Friday morning, 11th December. Prime Minister King welcomed their visit on behalf of the government and expressed his heartfelt appreciation for their volunteerism and expertise which had mutually benefited both countries tremendously at the time of serious manpower shortage when most of the overseas volunteers had cancelled their trips to St. Jude Hospital. He highly commended the joint efforts by the two governments and the two hospitals which for sure have further strengthened the already close relationship between Saint Lucia and Taiwan in the area of health and medical cooperation. It is expected that similar delegation will continue to come, the Prime Minister so wished.
The six volunteers from the Changhua Christian Hospital are: Dr. Chen, Yu-Ching, OB/GYN; Dr. Chiu, Chun-Wen, Emergency Room; Dr. Yang, Tuan-Ching, Pediatrician; Dr. Wu, Yu-Cheng, Internal Medicine; Dr. Tai, Hui-Chun, Pathologist; Mr. Su, Po-His, Emergency Room Nurse. They were accompanied by Mr. Charles Li, the Minister and Chargé d’Affaires, and Mr. Allen Lou, the Counsellor, and Ms. Susana Huang, Third Secretary, of the Taiwan Embassy.
Prime Minister King also highlighted the master plan for the new St. Jude Hospital that he pronounced a day ago in his televised address to the nation, in which he also stressed the inundated international contribution and commitment to the reconstruction and relief of St. Jude Hospital after its operating theatre was burnt down on the early morning of 9th September. Notably, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) through its Embassy in Saint Lucia had facilitated in presenting the master plan within the shortest possible time and in committing to help rebuild the burnt down building to meet state-of-the-art standards. The Prime Minister once again on behalf of the government and people of Saint Lucia expressed his profound gratitude for the contribution of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and of Ambassador Tom Chou and his staff at the Embassy.
The six members of the medical volunteer delegation respectively reported to the Prime Minister what they had learnt from the three-week service at St. Jude Hospital. They appreciated and were very impressed with the efficient assistance and hospitality rendered to them, and the commitment and hard work of the hospital staff. In addition to weekday service at the Hospital, they also joined in the on-call service at night and over the weekends, in which they were personally touched by the medical service efficiency and quality by the Hospital team they worked with. Wherever they went, they were greeted by local people with thanks and appreciation since they knew the delegation is here to work with St. Jude Hospital. The friendliness and hospitality they received is “second to none” as they described. Every one of them felt an enriched and educated experience that they had never expected before they arrived. Undoubtedly, it is going to be a lifetime memory to them.
St. Jude Hospital signed an Agreement of Twinning with the Changhua Christian Hospital on 8th July, 2009. According to the Agreement, both medical institutions agree to undertake a comprehensive exchange of information on the health sector, provision of international volunteers and to facilitate the increase in knowledge of health care professionals through the conduct of seminars and professional training and exchanges of staff on the basis of equality and reciprocity. To date, seven staff members in two groups from St. Jude Hospital had finished three-month training programmes at the Changhua Christian Hospital in Taiwan. More frequent exchange of visits will be announced in early 2010. |
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