patients treated at these hospitals and clinics. Besides helping them to regain maximum health and social capability in a joint effort with medical staff, close liaison was maintained during the year with other government departments and voluntary agencies for the rehabilitation and after care of these patients.
174. Medical social workers in the chest and special skin division continued to see patients by a referral and selection system, in addition to automatic interviews of all patients on admission arising from the social aspects of these diseases. Medical social workers of this divsion worked full-time at all main chest clinics and special skin clinics, and part-time at other sub-clinics, including New Territories clinics and the Aberdeen Jockey Club Clinic. In addition to services to out-patients. this division also provided medical social services to tuberculosis patients treated at such hospitals as the Kowloon, the Grantham, the Ruttonjee Sanatorium, the Wong Tai Sin Infirmary, the Haven of Hope Sanatorium, and other medical institutions. In the special skin service, medical social workers maintained close liaison with the Hay Ling Chau Leprosarium. There were fewer difficulties in 1972 with such rehabilitation problems as the housing of leprosy patients, the employment of cured persons, and their re-integration into the community.
175. Medical social work in the mental health service widened in scope with the Medical and Health Department's expansion, and with the new psychiatric unit in the Kowloon Hospital and the Queen Mary Hospital University Psychiatric Unit now fully operational. The increase of intake naturally had its impact on medical social workers who were required to meet social problems of patients in treatment, the care of these patients' families, as well as planning for their dis- charge, aftercare and rehabilitation. The full implementation of the public assistance scheme of the Social Welfare Department further increased the demand on medical social workers* time and attention. The opening of the Siu Lam Hospital resulted in an upsurge of re- ferrals to the mental health service of mentally retarded individuals. often with accompanying social problems, such as family rejection, for whom the medical social worker's assistance in counselling and referral for other welfare services was essential.
176. As a result of the rapid expansion in the medical and health services, there was a larger intake of new recruits in the medical social service, and the in-service training and orientation programme was
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carried out on a larger scale than before with the appointment of a training officer. Interdisciplinary departmental training, much appre- ciated because of its teamwork implications, continued to be main- lained. Requests also came from other hospitals' nursing schools such as the Tung Wah group of hospitals, from hospital administrators, welfare organizations, the Social Welfare Department's training sec- tion, and so on, for medical social workers' contributions towards their staff development programmes. Practical work placements in the department's hospitals, mainly the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mary, and the Kowloon hospitals, continued to be made available to the B. Soc. Sc. undergraduates of the two universities, and graduates undertaking the diploma of social studies course of the University of Hong Kong. In both respects, experienced and qualified medical social workers were designated as supervisors in the field training of social work students.
PHYSIOTHERAPY
177. The demand for physiotherapy services continued to rise. particularly for the serverely handicapped and patients requiring inlen- sive care. Another large group, mainly out-patients, consisted of those suffering from cervical spondylosis, the symptoms of which are often caused by sedentary occupations and the lack of physical activities among office workers.
178. The physiotherapy services in the west wing of the Kowloon Hospital continued a programme of expansion to give convalescent patients, particularly spinal lesions, as much attention as possible so as to overcome their disabilities. Many were also treated at the Kowloon Rehabilitation Centre. These long-stay patients need much encouragement, and sports activities were arranged for them to help increase their strength and independence. Most of them become pro- ficient at various wheelchair sports and take part in competitions against patients from other centres in basketball, table tennis, archery, javelin, swimming and discus-throwing. More social activities were arranged, such as picnics, visits to tea houses and homes, shopping, ten-pin bowling, and music lessons. A similar service was inaugurated by physiotherapists for about 26 patients at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
179. The David Trench Rehabilitation Centre continued to expand slowly. It drew on the Wan Chai Clinic for patients needing hydro- therapy. The Wan Chai Clinic started swimming sessions for the more
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