HEALTH
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but may be waived in cases of hardship as certified by a medical social worker. For domiciliary services, such as the community nursing service and the psychiatric community nursing service, a visiting fee of $5 per visit is charged which includes drugs, dressings and surgical equipment.
Patients in the general wards of government hospitals are charged $5 a day for diet, X-ray examinations, laboratory tests, drugs, surgery and any other forms of special treatment required. Again, this daily maintenance fee may be waived if necessary. A limited number of private beds are provided at major hospitals, with higher maintenance charges and additional charges for treatment.
Free medical services are offered at maternal and child health centres, family planning clinics, tuberculosis and chest clinics, floating clinics, casualty departments and through the 'flying doctor' service.
Training
Graduates of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong are awarded Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees that have been recognised by the General Medical Council of Great Britain since 1911. Both the government and the university maintain a post-graduate training programme. Opportunities are available for doctors to sit for higher professional examinations in Hong Kong by dual arrangement with various examination bodies in the United Kingdom and Australia. During 1982, more than 110 doctors went overseas for post-graduate training on government or other scholarships.
The University of Hong Kong produces about 150 medical doctors a year. Another medical school, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, admitted its first intake of 60 students in September 1981 who are expected to graduate by 1986.
An Institute of Medical and Health Care at the Hong Kong Polytechnic provides training for para-medical staff including radiographers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and medical and dental laboratory technicians. In-service training and post-qualification training courses are also available for para-medical staff within the Civil Service.
There are three government hospital schools of nursing for general registered nurses. A fourth will be established in the new Prince of Wales Hospital in 1983 and another in the Tuen Mun Hospital in 1987. Other approved nurse-training schools are attached to government-assisted or private hospitals. There are two training schools for psychiatric nursing at the Castle Peak Hospital and the new Kwai Chung Hospital. An enrolled nurse-training school in the Kowloon Hospital has an output of about 120 nurses a year and another such school is being planned.
The government also runs post-qualified in-service training courses for registered and enrolled nurses in midwifery, health nursing and community nursing. Selected staff nurses are also sent overseas for special training in health education, occupational health and psychiatric nursing.
Government Laboratory
The Government Laboratory is an independent agency providing practical and advisory services to government departments and the private sector in the field of applied chemistry and related scientific disciplines. Its work covers a wide range of activities, including many health-related services.
The examination of pharmaceutical products purchased or made by the government for use in its hospitals and clinics is carried out at the Government Laboratory. Products