5
Social Hygiene Service
The incidence of venereal diseases declined by 15 per cent compared with the previous year. Approximately 6 per cent of the cases came from the teenage group. The trends over the past ten years are illustrated in Figures 8 and 9.
Only 0.77 per cent of all ante-natal cases shoved an initial positive serology. Of the 302 positive cases referred from ante-natal clinics, 79 per cent were found to be suffering from syphilis.
New cases of leprosy identified and treated mumbered 119, representing a rate of 2.8 per 100,000 population. Tuberculoid manifestations comprised 48 per cent. In January 1975, the Hay Ling Chau Leprosarium was closed as planned several years ago and the remaining 51 patients were transferred to Lai Chi Kok Hospital, since the complete isolation of leprosy patients is no longer necessary from the community health point of view.
Family Health Service
The programme of integration of clinics managed by the Family Planning Association in government premises into the Maternal and Child Health Service was successfully completed by December 1974. In accordance with its expanded responsibilities and function as a result of the integration, the maternal and child health service was reorganised into the Family Health Service, which now operates 38 centres in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, each of which provides a comprehensive health care programme for women of child bearing age and children from birth to five years.
In 1974, 96.4 per cent of all new borns were brought to a centre for attention and advice on at least one occasion. Approximately one per cent of new attendances was found to have abnormalities, such as congenital defects or effects of prematurity.
The total attendance at family planning clinics was 149,179 with some of the clinics in operation for only a few months.
Industrial Health Service
A total of 49.559 occupational injuries was recorded : of these 31,014 were accidents which caused the injured person to be off work For more than three days and were therefore reportable under the Workmen's Compensation Ordinance. 234 deaths occurred in relation to work, out of which 42 were due to natural causes and 29 were seamen from Hong Kong. Industrial health officers participated in medical boards to assess the degree of disability of 13,671 injured workers.
General
IV. HOSPITAL SERVICES
At the end of 1974, a total of 16,414 hospital beds was available in Hong Kong, excluding those maintained by the armed forces. In addition there were 432 beds in government maternity homes and 188 beds in private maternity and nursing homes. The total 17,034 beds represented a ratio of 4.0 beds per 1,000 population. In some hospitals, temporary beds had to be used whenever the need arose. Development over the past years is illustrated in Figure 10.
The Sai Ying Pun Infectious Diseases Hospital was closed in May 1974 due to structural risks.
Three blocks in the upper Lai Chi Kok Hospital were opened in September to accommodate 102 long-stay psychiatric patients requiring minimal marsing care. This helps to reduce the overcrowded condition at Castle Peak Hospital which had 2,149 patients at the end of the year : 2,031 actually living in and 118 on trial discharge. In Jamiary 1975 the marses' quarter in the Lai Chi Kok Hospital was converted to accommodate leprosy patients transferred from Hay Ling Chau Leprosariu.
The work of the major government hospitals is summarised in Tables 53 to 59.
New Projects
The 1,340-bed general wing of the Princess Margaret Hospital vas structurally completed in July 1974, and officially handed over to the Department. The total cost of construction amounted to over 50 million dollars. Commissioning work was being handled by a special team. The hospital will serve as an acute general hospital for the West New Territories region and will offer a full range of specialist services, in addition to an infectious diseases unit, a renal unit and a geriatric unit.
The improvement and alteration work to the St. John Hospital, Cheung Chau, was completed. The hospital can nov provide a better medical service to the residents of Cheung Chau and other neighbouring islands.
V. CLINIC SERVICES
General and specialist out-patient
Pressure remained heavy throughout the year on all 51 general outpatient clinics and also on specialist clinics. Trends of the demand for services during the past ten years are shown in Figure 11.