Abdelouahab Bellou, former chairperson of the European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM), joined the Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital on April 21, as the hospital's first full-time foreign clinical academic leader.

Bellou has been dedicated to the development of emergency medicine for many years, and has carried out extensive work in the areas of emergency medicine quality and safety, critical cardiovascular care and life support, emergency pediatric medicine and disaster medicine. He is a leader in the development of international emergency medicine.

Professor Bellou delivers a speech at the welcome ceremony on April 21. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The introduction of Professor Bellou is an important symbol of the internationalization of the hospital's talent team, said Yu Xueqing, the hospital chief.

Yu also expressed his hope that Bellou will integrate localized Chinese experience into the hospital and carry out in-depth cooperation in key emergency medicine projects, medical education and training, and international multi-center cooperative research by introducing international advanced concepts. In Guangdong province, it is also expected that the establishment of trauma emergency care clinics and emergency response systems will be encouraged.

Bellou answers questions during an interview. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"I'm optimistic about China's future development prospects," Bellou said. He also noted that he felt happy and honored to have the opportunity to join the hospital and devote himself to clinical medical treatment and scientific research, and cooperate and communicate with excellent Chinese doctors.

He plans to collaborate with Chinese colleagues to improve treatment options for Chinese patients, establish a new provincial emergency medicine brand that meets international standards, and make every effort to promote emergency medicine development in Guangdong province and throughout China.

In recent years, the hospital's main focus has been on introducing high-level talents. To advance its talent attraction work, plans like "five fives" have been launched, in which talents will be offered 5 million yuan ($773,000) in research funds for five years and a 500-square-meter laboratory, as well as the ability to hire five full-time researchers, five postdocs, and five doctors. Bellou is the first international expert to benefit from the "five fives" strategy.