Medical Department
The Medical Department, with a staff of 2,875, is administered by a Director assisted by three deputies. This department is responsible for the medical care and treatment of the Colony's entire population; it consists of three main divisions dealing with hospitals, health and investigation.
diseases
The treatment of accidents, maternity, infectious (including tuberculosis), mental and general cases is the responsibility of the hospital division and for this purpose 11 hospitals with a total of 1,860 beds are available. In addition 18 dispensaries, 3 polyclinics and 3 dental clinics are provided for the treatment of out-patients. The Tung Wah group of hospitals, the Nethersole Hospital and the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis Association's Ruttonjee Sanatorium are also partly financed by the Government and these provide approximately 1,410 beds.
In addition various private and charitable hospitals provide another 885 beds, making a total of 4,155 beds in the whole Colony.
Anti-epidemic measures such as port health control, vaccination This and inoculation are the responsibility of the health division. division is also responsible for the care of expectant and parturient mothers and for the neo-natal care of infants, inspection and treatment of school children, malaria control, a tuberculosis service, public health education, prevention and treatment of social diseases and the regis- tration of births and deaths.
The pathological laboratories, one on each side of the harbour, the clinical laboratory at Queen Mary Hospital, the chemical and bio-chemical laboratories and public mortuaries are the responsibility of the investigation division.
General Health
Once again the Colony has been free from any epidemic. Indeed not a single case of any of the major quarantinable diseases was recorded for the whole year.
There was little evidence of malnutrition during the year as evidenced by the comparative absence of deficiency diseases.
Enteric diseases of the typhoid group caused some concern during the warmer months, being widespread all over the Colony, and were engendered by the bad sanitary conditions amongst squatter colonies; poliomyelitis was more in evidence this year; but in the main general health was excellent as shown by the low death rate figure.
71