auxiliary medical service auxiliary medical service auxiliary medical service (ams) is a voluntary medical and health services provider in hong kong. its mission is to supply effectively and efficiently regular services to maintain the health and well-being of people in hong kong. auxiliary medical services醫療輔助隊ams crestagency overviewformed1950jurisdictionhong kongheadquarters81 princess margaret road, homantinemployees4,745annual budget$72.0m (estimate 2012–13)minister responsiblejohn lee, secretary for securityagency executivesdr lam man kin, ronald, jp, commissionermr. wong ying-keung, chief staff officerwebsitehttp://www.ams.gov.hk auxiliary medical servicetraditional chinese醫療輔助隊simplified chinese医疗辅助队transcriptionsstandard mandarinhanyu pinyinyīliáo fǔzhù duìyue: cantoneseyale romanizationyī lìuh fuh joh deuihjyutpingji1 liu4 fu6 zo6 deoi6 politics and government of hong kong laws basic law drafting committee consultative committee article 23 national security law article 45 article 46 article 69 one country, two systems sino–british joint declaration criminal law capital punishment in hong kong criminal procedure jury system law enforcement in hong kong human rights lgbt rights in hong kong internet censorship in hong kong executive chief executive: john lee office of the chief executive committee for safeguarding national security of the hksar principal officials chief secretary: eric chan financial secretary: paul chan secretary for justice: paul lam executive council convenor: regina ip government secretariat and government agencies civil service bureau joint secretariat for the advisory bodies on civil service and judicial salaries and conditions of service constitutional and mainland affairs bureau registration and electoral office offices in the mainland and taiwan culture, sports and tourism bureau leisure and cultural services department tourism commission education bureau university grants committee secretariat working family and student financial assistance agency environment and ecology bureau environmental protection department agriculture, fisheries and conservation department food and environmental hygiene department hong kong observatory government laboratory health bureau department of health home and youth affairs bureau home affairs department information services department labour and welfare bureau social welfare department security bureau hong kong police force hong kong fire services department hong kong correctional services customs and excise department immigration department government flying service civil aid service auxiliary medical service transport and logistics bureau transport department civil aviation department highways department marine department housing bureau housing department commerce and economic development bureau intellectual property department invest hong kong office of the communications authority post office trade and industry department hong kong economic and trade offices (overseas) radio television hong kong development bureau architectural services department buildings department civil engineering and development department drainage services department electrical and mechanical services department lands department land registry planning department water supplies department financial services and the treasury bureau census and statistics department companies registry government logistics department government property agency inland revenue department official receiver's office rating and valuation department treasury innovation, technology and industry bureau efficiency office office of the government chief information officer innovation and technology commission hong kong civil service political appointments system legislature legislative council president: andrew leung list of members of the legislative council political camps: pro-beijing camp pro-democracy camp localist groups judiciarycourt of final appeal chief justice: andrew cheung high court chief judge: jeremy poon court of appeal president of the court of appeal court of first instance district court chief district judge: justin ko magistrates' court chief magistrate: so wai-tak special courts and tribunals: coroner’s court labour tribunal lands tribunal market misconduct tribunal obscene articles tribunal small claims tribunal districtsdistrict councils central and western eastern islands kowloon city kwai tsing kwun tong north sai kung sha tin sham shui po southern tai po tsuen wan tuen mun wan chai wong tai sin yau tsim mong yuen long area committees electionselectoral affairs commission registration and electoral office chief executive elections election committee legislative elections geographical constituencies functional constituencies election committee constituency district council elections list of constituencies of hong kong political parties universal suffrage foreign relationsdocuments hong kong identity card hksar passport bno passport consular missions in hong kong hong kong economic and trade office hong kong–united kingdom relations hong kong–united states relations hong kong–philippines relations hong kong–singapore relations hong kong–china relations hong kong liaison office office of the government of the hksar in beijing mainland and hong kong closer economic partnership arrangement hong kong–taiwan relations hong kong economic, trade and cultural office hong kong–taiwan economic and cultural co-operation and promotion council related topics cultureeconomyeducationgeographyhistory hong kong portal history an ambulance motorcycle of ams (in old colour) the hong kong government decided to form the auxiliary medical service in order to create a force that could assist the regular medical services during emergencies. the establishment of the ams was announced in the government gazette on 22 december 1950. in early 1951 the ams made a call for volunteers, including ordinary people who could be trained as auxiliary nurses, ambulance drivers, and other roles. as the population of hong kong swelled with refugees from china in the post-chinese communist revolution years, many lived in substandard housing areas susceptible to fires, landslips, storms, and other disasters, for which the ams played a role in delivering emergency medical treatment. in the 1950s, ams worked with st. john ambulance to establish first aid posts all around the territory. the ams was involved in major events like the shek kip mei fire in 1953, typhoon wendy in 1962 and landslides caused by heavy rainstorms in 1972. it also served during sars in hong kong in 2003 and 2004 indian ocean earthquake. normally, it sends out volunteers to fireworks displays, marathons, and other major events. in 1983, ams became an independent government operation branch under the security department of the government secretariat. a public hotline for enquiry about the services of ams and a non-emergency ambulance transport team were set up in 1995 and 1996 respectively. the youth ambassador scheme has also been implemented in 1997 with the objectives to encourage young people to have a healthy lifestyle and promote a sense of civic duties. as of 2007, the number of volunteers had grown to 4,418. fleet ams ambulance (in old colour) a list of vehicles used in the past and present: past land rover defender ambulances mercedes-benz t1 e-310 ambulances toyota coaster ambulance honda cbx750 motorcycle bmw r850rt motorcycle present mercedes-benz sprinter 516cdi ambulance mitsubishi fuso rosa ambulance bmw r900rt motorcycle nissan urvan mobile command post (mcp) merida mountain bike (cru) organisation auxiliary medical team members on duty. the auxiliary medical service has over 4,700 uniformed members, and is divided into six columns: hq column operations wing 1 hong kong island operating region kowloon east operating region kowloon west operating region operations wing 2 new territories east operating region new territories west operating region training and development column medical and paramedic column logistics and support column the headquarters column is composed of civil service staff of the ams. the operations wings are responsible for frontline work and account for the majority of members. the training and development column is responsible for providing first aid, evacuation, and infection control training to all members. the medical and paramedic column is responsible for the health protection section (hpu), emergency task force, and reserve personnel section. its members are professional doctors, nurses, and professionally trained personnel. in the event of a major incident, the medical and paramedic column will provide personnel to lead in rescue and medical efforts. the logistics and support column is responsible for the delivery of materials and members to stations and incidents, as well as the welfare of members of the ams. public relations and the band of the ams are also the responsibility of the logistics and support column. emergency cycling team bicycle team members during the commissioner's parade. the first aid bicycle team (chinese: 急救單車隊) was established in 2002. first aid cyclists provide first aid services on saturdays, sundays and public holidays for people travelling to tai po, ma on shan, and shatin. the first aid bicycle team is divided into the following sections: shatin section ma on shan section whitehead section tai po section tai po seaside section sheung shui section crest badge of the auxiliary medical service, 1950–1997. flag of the auxiliary medical service, 1950–1997. the current crest of the force was adopted in 1997 to replace most of the colonial symbols on the old crest (c. 1950): st edward's crown replaced with bauhinia laurel wreath retained but wording ams replaced with "醫療輔助隊" motto with wording "hong kong" replaced with "auxiliary medical services" source: auxiliary medical service (hong kong) auxiliary medical service cadet corps main article: auxiliary medical service cadet corps