Chengdu hosts first China International Emergency Medical Expo

By Zhang Ao (China Daily Sichuan Bureau)
Updated: 2009-11-02 16:35

The first China International Emergency Medical Expo (CEME) was held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, from October 28 to 31.

Co-hosted by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), Chengdu Municipal Government and Reed Sinopharm Exhibition Group, the four-day expo, with an area of more than 100,000 square meters, attracted 168 exhibitors from home and abroad.

Aimed at showing emergency-rescue achievements to the world, the exhibited products included medical equipment used during the emergency-rescue process

"We should rely on a science-oriented rescue rather than sheer enthusiasm in emergency medical service, and achieve the best result with the least cost," said Hou Shike, chief of the Chinese International Search and Rescue Team.

A large number of visitors from hospitals, medical departments and equipment manufacturing companies came to the expo to check out various exhibits and products.

"More than 100 people came to the Ambulance Area for relative information on the morning of the first day. Some of them were from foreign countries like Kenya and Ethiopia, especially for the expo," He Tao, manager of Chang'an Company, a well-known domestic automobile manufacturer, told China Daily.

Emergency Medical service practices, including wound-binding, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and exposure control, were also demonstrated by the Chengdu First-aid Commanding Center on the opening day of the expo.

The Retrospective Area of the Wenchuan Earthquake was one of the highlights of the expo. Various medical equipment used in last year's Magnitude-8 earthquake such as foldable tents, rescue helicopters, stretchers and ambulances were shown to the public.

An International Forum on Disaster and Emergency Medicine was held alongside the expo, offering a platform for medical organizations to communicate and cooperate with each other. Issues like disaster prevention, emergency rescue, H1N1 prevention and treatment, and post-disaster reconstruction were discussed and consensuses were reached on several matters.

Top experts including Hou Shike, chief of the China International Search and Rescue Team, Rick Patrick, director of the US Medical First Responder Coordination and Readiness Division of DHS, and Bai Tao, vice president of IAEM-Asia, were on hand at the forum to exchange opinions, experiences and strategies on international medical emergency rescue.

Due to the influence of last year's Magnitude-8 earthquake, a series of relative questions on anti-earthquake and post-quake rescue were hot topics at the forum. Hou spoke highly of the achievements made by domestic and international medical teams after the earthquake, which had reduced the damage of the disaster in a large degree. "However, we still need a more scientific way of rescue, more professional medical teams and better coordinated cooperation," he said.