4
HEALTH
99
were brought into use to bring the hospital's total bed strength to 1,242. Substantial progress was achieved in the planning of many other government projects, including a large general hospital in the Lai Chi Kok area, a new mental hospital of approximately 1,000 beds, an extension of almost 600 beds to Kowloon Hospital, and a redevelopment of medical institutions in the Sai Ying Pun district. Site formation work on the Tang Shiu Kin Hospital, at Morrison Hill, which will have a casualty department, was com- pleted and construction is in progress.
The general state of health of the population, as demonstrated by the Colony's vital statistics set out in Appendix XXX, was well maintained. Rates particularly indicative of the trends are the infant and neonatal mortality rates, which were 25.6 and 15.9 per 1,000 live births respectively, and the still-birth and maternal mortality rates, which were 11.2 and 0.30 per 1,000 total births, respectively. Maternal deaths totalled 27 for 1967. The crude death rate was 5.1 per 1,000 population. Based on actual registration of births and deaths, there was a reproductive increase of 68,527 people during the year. A total of 88,171 live births was registered as compared with 92,476 in 1966 and the crude birth rate fell further from 24.8 to 23.0 per 1,000 of population.
ADMINISTRATION
Statutory responsibility for administering the services which safeguard public health in Hong Kong rests with the Director of Medical and Health Services, the Urban Council, the Director of Urban Services, the Commissioner of Labour and the District Commissioner, New Territories. The Medical and Health Depart- ment provides hospital and clinic facilities throughout both urban and rural areas, maintains maternal and child health, school health and port health services and is responsible for measures to control epidemic and endemic disease. In addition, doctors are seconded to the Urban Services Department, the Industrial Health Division of the Labour Department, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Police and to the Prisons Department.
The estimated expenditure of the Medical and Health Department for the financial year 1967-8 is $129,873,700. To this should be added substantial subventions to many medical institutions and