2.4
CONFIDENTIAL &
- 5
The position may be summarised as follows:
Design capacity
(excluding
temporary and
Temporary beds (4)
Substandard
Total
beds (4)
substandard beds)
All institutions 15,315 (3.76)
1,245
827
17,387 (4.26)
(1972)
Planned additions
+2,493
by 1975
Closures by 1975
All institutions
(1975)
G.F. 323
607 (Note 2)
-88
17,201 (3.97)
1,245 (Note 3)
739
19,185 (4.42)
Note: (1) The figures in brackets are bed/population ratios.
(2) Closures are -
(a) Hay Ling Chau
540 (cases transferred to
(b) Sai Ying Pun
Princess Margaret Hospital)
88 (building unsafe)
(c) Private maternity clinics 67
Total : 695
(3) There were, on average, during May 1974, 1,598 temporary
beds in use, but it is assumed that with the opening of Princess Margaret Hospital the number of temporary beds will revert to the level at the end of 1972.
(4)
For definitions of temporary and substandard beds see paragraph 2.2
2.5
It will be a general aim of policy to eliminate temporary and substandard beds at the earliest possible opportunitý. Such however
is the pressure for urgent admissions to general hospital beds*** that
it is extremely unlikely that it will be possible to achieve the early elimination of any significant number of either temporary or substandard beds in Government hospitals. Action is proposed to seek to make the
fullest use of all available general beds in Government and Government- assisted hospitals but the expectation must still be that additional temporary
*** For the purposes of this White Paper 'general' beds includes those
for medical, surgical, paediatric, obstetrical and gynaecological
cases.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密