HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
香港立法局———————一九八九年六月二十八日
28 June 1989
71
Medical and health services
I would like to begin by reviewing what we provide for children by way of medical services because the right to life and health is the most basic of all.
The Department of Health provides a network of 45 family health centres which offer a full range of medical care to pregnant mothers and babies up to the age of five. There are plans to open a further eight centres over the next five years. The services provided in these centres and in the obstetrics units of hospitals are designed to promote the health of pregnant mothers and the well- being of the foetus, to ensure safe delivery and to safeguard the health of future pregnancies. They include a genetic counselling service for couples at risk of having children with genetic or chromosomal disorders, which helps them to understand the risk and to assess the available options.
The success of these services can be illustrated by Hong Kong's very low infant and maternal mortality rates. Infant mortality dropped from 37.7 per thousand live births in 1961 to 7.6 in 1988. The maternal mortality rate, likewise, dropped from 0.45 per thousand total births to 0.04 over the same period. These figures are among the best in the world.
The centres also provide continuous health services to babies and young children, including a comprehensive observation scheme to detect and assess early developmental abnormalities in children and to refer appropriate cases to special child assessment centres. Their services are well received by the community, as reflected by the very high attendance: more than 90% of all newborns attended the centres in 1988 and the BCG vaccination programme against tuberculosis covered 99% of newborns.
The general health of school children is also of great importance. Many of the learning and behavioural problems of children can be traced to poor physical health, and by promoting health care we can help children to obtain the maximum benefit from available educational and social facilities.
There is low incidence of disease among Hong Kong children, the most serious childhood infectious diseases having been brought under control or virtually eradicated. While the services in outpatient clinics and public hospitals are available to children as well as adults, children enjoy the additional benefits provided by the school medical service, which enables parents to send their children to consult a private doctor of their choice in the school district. The