HEALTH
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and the health education of children, teachers and parents. All building plans are scrutinized before registration of a school is recommended and there is regular inspection of the sanitary condition of school premises. Free prophylactic immunization against diphtheria, typhoid, tetanus and smallpox is offered to all school children, and inoculating teams visit regularly all registered schools. Tuberculin testing is also carried out, negative reactors being vaccinated with BCG.
Children participating in the medical treatment scheme undergo periodic medical inspections in addition to treatment that may be given for any intercurrent disease. Defects are either treated in the school clinics or referred to eye, ear, nose and throat, dental or other specialist clinics. Cases referred for hospital treatment are charged maintenance fees only, while appliances such as spectacles are provided either at cost or at a reduced charge or free depending on an almoner's recommendation. The School Dental Service undertakes routine dental examinations and limited conservative treatment of those school children who participate in the scheme.
Industrial Health. The work of the Industrial Health Section of the Labour Department, which is staffed by members of the Medical and Health Department, is described in Chapter 3.
Mental Health. The Castle Peak Hospital, containing 1,000 beds, was opened on 27th March 1961 and includes one block of 120 beds for the voluntary treatment of drug addicts. The former Victoria Mental Hospital on Hong Kong Island was con- verted to a psychiatric clinic for the treatment of out-patients and now provides some limited day hospital accommodation.
The centre in the Castle Peak Hospital for the treatment of drug addicts is designed to make treatment available for addicts who are prepared to surrender their freedom voluntarily for a period of up to six months. After medical and nursing care during the period of withdrawal from the addicting drug a programme of rehabilitation aims to restore confidence and re-establish the individual in the community. By the end of the year a number of these voluntary patients had been discharged and group psycho-therapy was continuing through the medium of a club which they had established with the help of the staff of the treatment centre.