July 9-10, 2008, a symposium on the rehabilitation of the earthquake wounded was held by the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine (CARM) in Chengdu, Sichuan province. Some leaders and medical experts from the Public Health Department of Sichuan province, Huaxi Medical College of Sichuan University, People’s Hospital of Sichuan province, the Orthopedics Hospital of Sichuan province attended the symposium. Staff from the front coordination group of earthquake relief work of the Ministry of Public Health and some rehabilitation researchers also attended the symposium. 

The symposium informed participants of the progress of the rehabilitation work of the earthquake wounded and its development, and proposed the requests and suggestions for the rehabilitation of the earthquake wounded and future tasks, aims, measures as well as developing thoughts of rehabilitation medicine.

After the earthquake, the Party and government attached great attention to the rehabilitation work of the earthquake wounded, and a series of policies has been issued and relevant actions taken in order to improve the cure effect to the greatest extent and dramatically reduced mortality disability rates. The Ministry of Public Health has organized medical experts to conduct surveys on the early rehabilitation of the wounded, training courses on rehabilitation techniques, and rehabilitation teams to help the wounded in the disaster stricken areas. These actions, symbolized by a periodical success of the rehabilitation work, have ensured strong policy support for the wounded to get effective medical help without any delay, and laid a solid foundation for the future rehabilitation work of the earthquake wounded.

The symposium also examined key tasks and measures for the rehabilitation work in the next period. All participants reached consensus on adopting methods to combine concentrated rehabilitation with decentralized rehabilitation. Those wounded with serious conditions will be sent to better-off provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions for continued treatment.

In the end, the symposium pointed out that relevant departments and 9 rehabilitation centers for the earthquake wounded in Sichuan province should strengthen coordination actively so as to finish the rehabilitation task for the earthquake wounded in the disaster stricken areas in an orderly and effective way.