| Dear Patients Some good news Our senior partner, Dr Lucy Lord joined a 2 person Hong Kong obstetric practice back in 1991 and a few years later, together with Dr Rulin Fuong, took over its management and ownership from the retiring senior partner. Since then Central Health has grown to employ over 100 medical and support staff in 3 locations covering all primary health care specialties and seeing over 2000 patients per week. After working with her for so many years we were delighted to learn that she has just been awarded an MBE in the UK’s New Year Honours List, “for services to Health in Hong Kong”. As many of you will know Lucy intends to return to the UK by the end of 2024 (before which she will be delivering quite a few more babies! ), but perhaps more importantly she has recruited a London – trained (at Lucy’s alma mater hospitals – Queen Charlottes and St Mary’s) female obstetrician with similar expertise in high risk pregnancies and recurrent miscarriage. She is scheduled to join the Central Health obstetric team in January 2024. Whilst Lucy’s relocation to the UK is still some way off, we think that her thoroughly well-deserved MBE merits a brief reflection from us, particularly as we have seen how Lucy never pauses to think about achievements, preferring to move on to the next project. Lucy has of course developed a reputation as an obstetrician managing difficult pregnancies and supporting those wishing for normal deliveries. We expect that by the time she leaves after a 34 year career in Hong Kong she will have delivered nearly 6000 Central Health babies. However it is probably less well known that she has been a formidable and effective advocate for a series of healthcare causes close to her heart, and in doing so has achieved real, positive change, making a significant difference to many lives, often for the most disadvantaged in society. A core theme running through Lucy’s medical practice has been her strong belief that maternal mental health makes the most significant contribution to the well – being of families, and that this requires access to safe childbirth, fertility care, contraception and, critically, proper emotional support. Lucy saw, right back to her time as a doctor in the UK’s National Health Service, that in lower income families and marginalised communities it was the decline in women’s mental health that often caused the most damage to family members. This is why much of her professional and voluntary work has been founded on a conviction that cultures and communities need to prioritise mental health – especially maternal psychological wellbeing – in order to thrive. From the 1990’s Lucy campaigned to solve what she saw as some key healthcare failings in Hong Kong. These included the need to ensure that private hospitals provided 24 hour on – site emergency cover for maternity wards, the need for hospitals to carry essential supplies of rhesus – negative blood ( which is of special importance for high – risk pregnancies and children ), and lobbying for access to fertility care for the LGBT community. She also pressurised health authorities to provide far better, compassionate care for women who suffered stillbirths, including respectful treatment of the remains of all stillborn babies irrespective of gestation. For many years Lucy and Central Health’s psychologists have provided pro -bono psychological care for mothers who have miscarried or suffered stillbirths. By 2014 the partners and doctors decided to formalise the practice’s pro-bono work as a “section 88” charity, The Patient Care Foundation ( PCF ), which continues to serve as Central Health’s charitable arm. From the outset PCF identified four vulnerable groups of people, pledging to improve their access to appropriate medical care, support and resources. These were children who required stays in hospital but were being separated from their parents (which became an acute issue during Covid last year); high risk pregnant mothers-to-be; marginalised groups ( e.g. refugees and migrant domestic workers) without access to healthcare; and individuals experiencing mental health difficulties. For detailed information on PCF’s programmes go to www.patientcarefoundation.com.hk Although all PCF projects have been important, we believe that Lucy’s singular achievement has been the founding one of Hong Kong’s leading mental health charities, Mind Hong Kong ( MindHK ). From her initial focus on maternal psychological well – being Lucy was acutely aware that mental health stigmatisation has long been a problem, leading to a serious under-recognition of mental health issues across society and a significant under-provision of vital support. To tackle this head – on Lucy took inspiration from the long – established Mind charity in the UK, whose mission is that it “won’t give up until everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect”: http://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/what-we-do/ Lucy worked with Mind to bring this ethos to Hong Kong when setting up MindHK in 2017, starting with the localisation, adaptation and translation of Mind resources into traditional Chinese. These were first “baby steps” in what became a series of increasingly high – impact MindHK mental health programmes. See www.mind.org.hk to get an idea of the vast amount Mind HK now offers to those experiencing mental health difficulties. Last year MindHK launched its most ambitious project to date: the Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner (PWP) training programme. This resulted from Lucy’s determination that MindHK should provide practical, fast and effective individual support to the many in Hong Kong unable to access sufficient help thorough traditional healthcare channels. The PWP programme equips practitioners with the skills needed to provide free of charge mental health interventions for those experiencing mild to moderate problems such as anxiety and depression. Similar programmes overseas find that 50% to 70% of patients achieve recovery status. The first cohort of 50 Youth PWPs (YWP’s) have now been trained and placed in schools, universities and NGOs across Hong Kong. MindHK has also introduced its first online mental health services platform, www.iact.hk, offering an alternative channel to provide 1:1 support for young people. Unsurprisingly the demand for this service is already considerable. Many more PWPs will be trained this year and in future, enabling the programme to be expanded to cover all age groups. Lucy continues to volunteer many hours per week as Executive Chair of MindHK and remains responsible, together with its Board and advisors, for its strategic direction, its community programs and its fundraising. She is now working to ensure there will be a smooth transition of management and Board leadership to allow MindHK to continue and expand on its vital work for the people of Hong Kong. As Lucy’s partners in Central Health we are determined to build on her legacy by ensuring that Central Health group, PCF and MindHK continue to provide medical care, advocacy, support and other crucial resources both for our own patients and for vulnerable communities in Hong Kong for many years to come. Once again, many congratulations to Lucy on her MBE, and we look forward to continuing working with her during her final years in Hong Kong. Central Health Group Partners Dr Rulin Fuong Dr Yvonne Ou Dr Eugene Kwan Dr Charles Brantly Dr Stephanie Lam Dr Carmen Tam Dr Winnie Siu Mind HK is seeking a fundraising consultant (part-time volunteer) an HR consultant (very part time volunteer) and fundraising manager (part-time/full-time paid staff role) to enable them to continue to work towards their vision of ensuring no one in Hong Kong has to face a mental health problem alone. These roles require working closely with the senior management team at Mind HK, engaging with existing and new stakeholders and donors, developing and implementing a sustainable fundraising strategy, and supporting their campaigns and events. We would appreciate any support with this. If you would like to apply, please send your CV, availability, and a cover letter to Min Huang, COO of Mind HK, at hr@mind.org.hk |
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