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The following is issued on behalf of the Child Fatality Review Panel:
The Child Fatality Review Panel held its first meeting today (June 30).
The standing and independent Review Panel, with 20 non-official members appointed by the Director of Social Welfare, was set up this month following the successful implementation of the Pilot Project on Child Fatality Review between February 2008 and February 2011.
The Chairman of the Review Panel, Professor Leung Nai-kong, said, "Our review aims to improve the current child protection and child welfare service systems and to promote inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary collaboration for preventing avoidable child deaths."
"We look forward to finding out more effective ways to ensure the safety and welfare of our children," he added.
At today's meeting, the Review Panel decided that the review scope would include all the cases reported to the Coroner involving children or young persons aged below 18 who died of different causes on or after January 1, 2008. Also included would be those cases that were not reported to the Coroner but worthy of review.
To facilitate comprehensive and multi-faceted review, panel members were tapped from a variety of backgrounds to include medical, social welfare, psychological, legal, education, academia, business and parent representatives. In order to retain the experience gained in the pilot project, all members of the former Review Panel of the pilot project were invited to join the new panel. A forensic pathologist and a child psychiatrist were also appointed to enhance the multi-disciplinary representation of the Review Panel.
The membership list of the Child Fatality Review Panel is as follows:
Chairman
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Professor Leung Nai-kong
Non-official Members
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Dr Philip Beh Swan-lip
Ms Sumee Chan Kit-bing
Miss Anna May Chan Mei-lan
Miss Grace Chan Mi-har
Dr Patrick Cheung Chi-hung
Mr Herman Hui Chung-shing
Dr Hung Se-fong
Miss Hung Wing-chee
Dr Gladys Lam Chan Lan-tak
Ms Leona Lam Wai-ling
Dr Maria Lee Lai-wan
Professor Albert Martin Li
Professor Daniel Shek Tan-lei
Miss Nancy Tsang Lan-see
Dr Anita Tsang Man-ching
Ms Marina Wong Yu-pok
Dr Yiu Gar-chung
Dr Yu Chak-man
Mr Christopher Yu Wing-fai
For details of the Final Report of the Review Panel of the Pilot Project on Child Fatality Review, please visit the Social Welfare Department's website (www.swd.gov.hk/doc/whatsnew/201101/PPCFRFR.pdf).
Ends/Thursday, June 30, 2011
Issued at HKT 18:14
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