48. With the increasing importance of Hong Kong as a tourist and an international transit centre, the work of the Service has gradually increased during the recent years. The increase of shipping entering the port has resulted in an extension of the quarantine service to give a full 24 hours daily cover. This service also pays special attention to travellers from nearby ports of Macao and Kwangtung province and to vessels from plague infected regions.
DISTRICT MIDWIFERY SERVICES
(See table 30)
49. Owing to the difficulties of domiciliary delivery under existing housing conditions, it has been the Department's policy to provide maternity beds in Health Centres. Approximately 98.36% of births took place in institutions, either hospitals or maternity homes. It is of interest that 20.35% of all births were in maternity centres attached to Government clinics and 33.34% were attended by midwives in private practice. The remainder of the above mentioned 98.36% of births took place in Government, Government subsidized and private hospitals.
50. Early this year, one new Government centre with 24 maternity beds was opened in Yuen Long in the New Territories while the maternity home in the old premises was closed. This resulted in an increase of 17 maternity beds. During the year, the domiciliary centres in Kowloon City and Shek Kip Mei were closed on account of the small number of domiciliary cases.
MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH SERVICES
(See tables 31-32)
51. There is increasing public appreciation of the value of these services in the maintenance of bealth amongst infants and expectant and nursing mothers, and 63.1% of children born attended a Centre on al least one occasion; the corresponding figure for 1964 was 53.6%. Only 0.13% of the new attendances at infant welfare centres were found to have abnormalities; of these, the majority were either congenital defects or the effects of prematurity. A further encouraging trend is the increas- ing appreciation by expectant mothers of the need for regular ante-natal care as reflected in increasing attendances at ante-natal sessions and by the low maternal mortality rate.
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52. The subsidiary centre in Tsuen Wan in the New Territories was replaced by a full time one and the subsidiary centre in Yuca Long has been transferred to the new Yuen Long Health Centre in the New Territories. A new subsidiary centre was opened in Sha Tau Kok in the New Territories.
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES
53. The Medical and Health Department provides an advisory service to the Education Department on matters relating mainly to the environmental health and hygiene in schools.
54. Inspection of schools is carried out by School Health Inspectors with special regard to lighting, ventilation and sanitary arrangements.
55. Immunization against Diphtheria, Cholera and Smallpox was carried out in the schools during the year by staff attached to the Area Health Officers.
56. Tuberculin testing was carried out in students of primary I and 6 and form V classes by School Health Staff vaccinators and B.C.G. vaccine given where necessary. Positive reactors with a reading of over 15 mum were submitted to X-ray examination and further investigation of 465 pupils examined radiologically, 25 were found to have active tuberculosis and were given treatment. Health Visitors from the School Health Service paid initial home visits to these pupils, and such further visits as were considered necessary.
57. In the field of Health Education 2 Health Visitors gave talks on health and hygiene and organized first-aid classes in schools.
SCHOOL MEDICAL SERVICE BOARD
(See table 33)
58. The School Medical Service which commenced in September, 1964, is administered by the School Medical Service Board, an inde pendent body incorporated by Ordinance, and operated by private medical practitioners. Remuneration of the doctors is on a per capita basis and half the fees are contributed by participants: Government provides the remaining funds and, in addition, donates $1 for the administrative expenses of the Board for each participant.
59. There was a decline in the enrolment of pupils in the service. By the end of the year under review, 50,394 students from 517 schools
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