She came to Beijing to help out as a volunteer for the Olympic events held at Shunyi district, but pain on her left shoulder forced the visitor from the United Kingdom to check into the China-Japan Friendship Hospital for surgery.

Yesterday, the 20-year-old volunteer wrote a letter of thanks to hospital staff as she was transferred back to Manchester for the rest of her recovery.

"Thank you for all your continuous help and support during my stay. It has been greatly appreciated," said the volunteer, who wanted to be known as Sarah.

Sarah is one of the countless visitors to the capital who enjoyed medical services and healthcare efforts during the Olympics and expressed their thanks for the hospitality, officials said yesterday.

"The medical services are the best I have ever experienced in my Olympic life," Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) medical commission, told China Daily in an exclusive interview.

"The 29th Olympics will be well remembered among the public health community," said Ljungqvist, who has been an IOC member since 1987.

World Health Organization China Representative Hans Troedsson also gave his congratulations for a successful Games and provision of services.

"From the perspective of both public health and medical services, everything went very well," Troedsson said. "It has been an excellent Olympic Games and a fantastic public health opportunity."

"People are received with warmth and feel welcomed here," Ljungqvist added. "The volunteers have been thousands of goodwill ambassadors."

As of yesterday, there had been no cases of major epidemics, food poisoning, pollution of drinking water sources and any other outbreak during the Games, sources with the Beijing municipal health bureau said.

By 5 pm yesterday, designated and non-designated major hospitals had also received 3,841 Games-related patients home and abroad, with 176 hospitalized for treatment.

The capital had mobilized more than 180,000 professionals engaged in high-level medical and healthcare services for this Olympics, officials said.

(China Daily August 25, 2008)