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Campus Health and Safety
The Use of Emergency Ambulance Service on Campus
January 2014
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The Use of Emergency Ambulance Service on Campus

The Hong Kong Fire Services Department (FSD) is operating a fleet of ambulances for providing emergency ambulance service (EAS) to the Hong Kong community. As advised by FSD, such service is meant for people whose conditions require immediate pre-hospital treatment, or require immediate transfer to a hospital for prompt medical attention. For people whose conditions are not serious and if circumstances permit, they should go to the hospital by other means, or seek medical attention from a clinic. Deploying an ambulance for a non-urgent situation may mean the delay for a real urgent situation in need of the emergency ambulance service. All Hong Kong residents have the responsibility to ensure that such important resources are reserved for those in real need.

At HKUST, we should also try our best to ensure that such important resources are only used in real urgent situations. Although it is not always easy to determine whether a particular situation warrants the immediate summons of EAS, the records supplied by the Security Control Center (SCC) indicated that there were quite a number of ambulances called to campus by individuals for obvious minor or non-urgent injuries or sickness. 
 
For obvious non-urgent cases (injuries or sickness) happened on campus during office hours, it is advisable that medical attention should first be sought at the Campus Medical Clinic. The SCC can also offer assistance if needed. Both the SCC and Medical Clinic could also summon the EAS if the situation or condition of the patient/injured person is considered appropriate for that. An additional benefit with such an arrangement is that immediate first aid and medical attention can be given to the patient while waiting for the arrival of the ambulance. 
 
For situations where EAS has been summoned directly by individuals (the sick/injured person or other persons involved), the SCC should also be informed so that they can help direct the ambulance to the right place as quickly as possible when it arrives at the campus gate. The security personnel may also be able to provide immediate assistance before the ambulance arrives. The Campus Clinic and SCC are equipped with Automated External Defibrillators which may help save life during the critical period after a heart failure and before the arrival of the ambulance.
 
Emergency phone numbers: 
 
Security Control Center: 8999 or 2358 8999 -- 24 hours
 
Campus Medical Clinic: 6670 or 2358 6670 -- During opening hours
 
Monday - Friday :
9:00 am - 12:30 pm / 1:30 pm - 4:45 pm
Saturday : 
9:00 am - 11:45 am
Sunday & Public Holidays : 
Closed