I Introduction
The Medical and Health Department provides a whole range of medical and health services for the community of Hong Kong. The constant influx of immigrants into Hong Kong, the rising expectations of its people, coupled with the constraints in manpower and resources, have imposed heavy straina on services provided by the department. Attendance at the casualty departments of major Government hospitale, at various general and specialist out-patient clinica, and admissions to hospital warda, have all reached the highest recorda. However, the development of medical and health servicen showed no signs of slowing down but, in fact, progressed natiofactorily in keeping pace with the need of the growing population.
For the 1981/82 financial year, the Medical and Health Department's expenditure was $1,204.3 million. Subventions totalling about $629.4 million are also being made to many non-government medical institutions and organisations. The capital expenditure
on hospitals and other buildings including furniture and equipment was $286.4 million,
II Health of the Community
The general level of health of the population in Hong Kong remains good. This is due largely to the anti-epidemic and disease surveillance measures, developments in preventive and personal health services and general improvement in the socio-economic conditions of the population. These progresses are reflected in the further improvements in the already good health indices and the decline in the incidence of major communicable diseases,
The estimated mid-year population of Hong Kong in 1981 was
It is 5.15 million, an increase of 2. compared with the previous year. aleo estimated that about 24.7% vere under 15 and 6.6% of the population were 65 and over.
The crude death rate was 4.8 per thousand population. Figure 2 shows the age specific death rates in Hong Kong for the year 1981. The
heart five leading causes of death in Hong Kong were malignant neoplasms, diseases, cerebral vascular diseases, pneumonia and various injury and poisoning. Common forms of malignancies in Hong Kong were cancers of the lung, liver, nasopharynx, stomach and intestine.
The total number of registered live births in the year was 87,104, a crude birth rate of 16.9 par thousand population compared to 17.0 in 1980. In the same year the infant mortality rate was 9.7 per thousand live births against 11.8 in 1980. The major causes of infant deaths recorded were anoxia, hypoxia and birth asphyxia (3%), congenital abnormalities (26%), immaturity (10%) and pneumonia (8%). Maternity mortality rate was 0.03 per thousand total births as compared with 0.05 in 1980. The major causes of maternal deaths were postpartum haemorrhage and obstetrical pulmonary embolium.
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