L-ADMINISTRATION.
A. General.
In this report the text will refer to the period January 1st, 1948 to March 31st, 1949, but ull statistical tables will refer to the calendar year 1948. Any discrepancies between text and tables are explained by this arrangement. It is proposed in future years that the text should refer to the financial year i.e. April 1st to the following March 31st, while statistical tables will refer to the calendar year as before. The period of fifteen months covered by the text this year being due to the fact that it is the transitional stage:
2. During the period under review the tendency was for the departmental activities to approach steadily the more normal peace time routine.
3. In the latter part of the year the office of the Principal Almoner was moved from the Queen Mary Hospital, where it had been since the beginning of the Almoners sub-department in 1939, to the Medical Department headquarters. The work of the sub- department has developed to such an extent that the Principal Almoner's duties are no longer specially concerned with the Queen Mary Hospital.
4. In Jauuary 1949 the Royal Naval Hospital evacuated the remaining wards occupied by them at the Queen Mary Hospital and as many of these wards as could be equipped and staffed were put into operation.
5. Ja a number of administrative matters concerning the medical profession as a whole, the advice of the Hong Kong & China Branch of the British Medical Association and the Bong Kong Chinese Medical Association was sought and their helpful co-operation was appreciated.
6. The chart in Annexure & shows the system of decentrali- zation in the department. Mape showing the position of medical institutions in the Colony are shown in Annexure B.
B. Boards.
7. The Medient Advisory Board to His Escolleury the Governor. This Board consists of representatives of the three Services and the British and Chinese Medical Association with the Deputy Director of Medical Services as Secretary. It net regularly during the early and latter part of the period under review but meetings were not held during the absence on leave of the Director of Medical Services. The community owes a debt of gratitude to the members of this Board who give so much of their valuable time to this work.