3
In regard to the third aim, I should like to take up the matter of the accident service which has been mentioned by my Friend, Dr. Fang.
The accident service calls for the establishment of a 2-tier system in which the more severe cases are seen and treated at a Designated Accident Centre(DAC) which in effect is the casualty department of the Regional Hospital, and the less serious cases are managed at Accident Centres (AC) at the
District Hospital level. In fact, this system has already been implemented and has been operating satisfactorily for quite some time. Whilst on this subject, I should like to comment on the ambulance service which incidentally is not "essentially a transport service". As in most other developed countries, our Ambulance personnel are trained to recognise a patient's condition, give stabilisation treatment on the spot if indicated and continue this during conveyance to hospital. Such training is known as "Ambulance Aid". It is considerably more advanced than "First Aid" and includes all aspects of modern ambulance treatment, ambulance nursing and patient care and comprehensive instruction on both manual and mechanical methods of lifc-support. Moreover, ambulances are fitted with two-way radio and carry modern ambulance equipment including piped oxygen, analgesic gas, resuscitation apparatus, burns dressings and inflatable splints.
Thus, in the circumstances of Hong Kong where distances are comparatively short and the ambulance service efficient our primary aim must be to ensure that ambulance aid is given to emergency cases on the spot and that such cases are conveyed to designated accident centres or accident centres which are properly equipped and staffed to deal with them with the least possible delay.. Nevertheless, the need for improvement of the present service will be kept under constant review and Dr. Fang may rest assured that Hong Kong has an ambulance service which is professionally and technically of a high and adequate standard.
Sir, turning now to our efforts to improve the medical and health services, it is essential that we recognise the major problems confronting us and to face these squarely.
As I see it, these are the continuing demands for hospital beds, for consulting rooms in the out-patient service and the related problems of the supply of professional, nursing and para-medical staff as well as the capabilities of the construction industry and competing claims of other social services for financial and other resources.
Special demands are made by the rapidly growing agglomorations in parts of Kowloon, specifically East Kowloon and Kwun Tong and the New Territories. Fortunately, the population on the Island is expected to increase less dynamically and the basic facilities are adequate to cope with growth.
Thus, plans are in hand to provide more in-patient and out-patient facilities in accordance with the areas of most demand. I shall enumerate these improvement projects briefly.
/.......