Health 177
Dental Health
Preventive services are delivered through the School Dental Care Service Unit of the Department of Health which provides annual dental examination and basic dental care to about 414 000 children annually. A 24-hour interactive voice response system at the telephone hotline provides voice and fax information on the service and on oral health. The public can also visit the School Dental Care Service homepage (www.schooldental.gov.hk) for updated information. The Department of Health monitors the level of fluoridation in the communal water supply in order to reduce dental decay among the population. Specialist oral healthcare services are provided to hospital in-patients and those with special oral health needs. In addition, there are 11 designated dental clinics which provide emergency dental services to the public.
Hospitals and the Hospital Development Programme
In 2005, there were 1.128 million inpatient and day patient discharges and 5.98 million specialist outpatient attendances. Accident and emergency departments of major public hospitals had 2.049 million attendances, or 5 614 per day.
The international trend has been to focus on the development of ambulatory and community care programmes. In 2005, the authority continued to step up training for family physicians, community paediatricians, community physicians, general practitioners and community allied health practitioners to support the development of the community mode of healthcare delivery. Authority staff members made 791 200 home visits to provide community nursing services and attended to elderly and psychiatric outreach patients on 722 200 occasions. The authority also continued to implement its community-based programmes on fall prevention and hypertension control. To strengthen its ambulatory services, the authority remodelled the Tang Shiu Kin Hospital into an ambulatory care centre which was completed in early 2005.
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Several hospital development programme projects were completed redevelopment of Castle Peak Hospital (Phase 2), the establishment of a radiotherapy centre and redevelopment of the accident and emergency department at Princess Margaret Hospital and the remodelling of the Tuen Mun Polyclinic Building into an ophthalmic centre. Major ongoing projects included the redevelopment and expansion of Pok Oi Hospital, the redevelopment of staff quarters at Tuen Mun Hospital into a rehabilitation block and the construction of a new infectious disease centre attached to Princess Margaret Hospital.
Health Promotion
Central Health Education Unit
The Central Health Education Unit of the Department of Health continues to play a leading role in formulating the direction and providing health education resources for the promotion of public health. The unit has a team of multi-disciplinary professionals who help provide knowledge-based, need-driven and effective health promotion.