I Introducti on
The Medical & Health Departmant provides a whole range of medical and health services for the community of Hong Kong. Since 1977 the provision of services has been organised along regional lines. Each region is provided with comprehensive general and specialist facilities with the regimal hospital as the centre supported by district hospitals, specialist and general clinics. Regionalisation aime at ensuring a better appreciation of the medical and health needs of each of the main population centres,
Demand for medical and health servicen has significantly - risen during the past years with a sudden and rapid increase in population. This, coupled with the rising expectation of Hong Kong people for better and more social services, has brought great pressure to bear on the Medical and Health Department.
For the 1980/81 financial year, the Medical and Health Department's estimated expenditure was $913.8 millä an. In addition, subventions totalling $476,2 million were made to many non-government medical institutims and organisations. The capital expenditure on hospitale and other buildings, including furniture and equipment, wesla $252.3 million,
II Health of the Community
Hong Kong people continued to enjoy good general health. Improvements in preventive, curative and rehabilitative health measures by the health authority on top of the improvements in the Bocio- economical condition have contributed to a low mortality rates and
a decline in the incidence of major communicable diseases,
The estimated mid-year population of Hong Kong in 1980 was 5.04 million, an increase of 3.3% compared with the previous year. It is also estimated that about 25.6% were under 15 and 6.4% of the population were 65 and over.
The crude death rate was 5.15 per thousand population. Figure 2 above the age specific death rates in Hong Kong for the year 1980. The five leading causes of death in Hong Kong were malignant neoplasm, heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseasON, pneumonia and various injury and poisoning. Common forma af malignancies in Hong Kong were cancers of the lung, liver, nasopharynx, stomach and oesophagus,
/The total number .............
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