187. The total number of in-patients treated was 8,651 which was an increase of 114% on the figure for the previous year, As in the case of Queen Mary Hospital, the majority of cases dealt with were acute and it is noteworthy that of all admissions, excluding maternity admissions, 35% were accidents, assaults, attempted suicides or attempted homicides.
188. There was no significant increase in the in-patient accommodation during the year but improvements were effected in the out-patient department where a new Casualty Department was erected. This relieved accommodation in the general out- patient department for a short time but this space was rapidly taken up by increased attendances. Total out-patient attend- ances numbered 640,701, a figure some 11% greater than that of the previous year, and more than four times the attendances in 1947. Of the total attendances, 545,259 were new cases. To deal with the large number of attendances it was necessary to operate the out-patient department in two shifts which extended from 9.00 a.m. to 12.00 midnight daily.
189. An important addition to the hospital's facilities during the year was the provision of a Blood Bank which opened in November, 1952. This was an immediate success and met a longstanding need.
St. John Hospital, Cheung Chau.
190. This hospital of 101 beds, situated on the island of Cheung Chau, to the west of Hong Kong Island, serves the fishing population of the island and the large floating population based thereon. In addition, patients come for treatment from the villages on the neighbouring islands. The hospital is owned by the St. John Ambulance Association but is, at present administered and operated by Government under a 5-year agree- ment which terminates at the end of 1954.
191. As with all other medical institutions, there was an increase in the work carried out during the year. In-patients numbered 1,683 and out-patients 16,830 compared with 1,593
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in-patients and 13,945 out-patients in the previous year. Of the total number of in-patients 379 were maternity cases. Nearly half of the beds, in fact 42, were reserved for tuberculosis cases admitted, not only from the population served by the hospital directly, but transferred for convalescence from other institu- tions in the Colony.
Tean Yuk Hospital.
192. This maternity hospital of 85 beds is situated in a con- gested area of Hong Kong Island. With even this small number of beds it is the largest maternity hospital in the Colony. The buildings are old and unsuitable but in spite of this, a very large amount of work was carried out, the standard of which was very high. Nevertheless, it is gratifying to know that planning of a new 200 bed maternity hospital to replace the present institution is now well under way. A sum of $3,500,000 has been presented to Government by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to build and equip this new institution, work on which, it is hoped, will commence during 1953.
193. Throughout the past three years, the work of the present hospital has shown a steady and great increase and, during the year under review, this trend continued, there being 7,216 admissions and 6,737 deliveries as compared with the corresponding figures of 6,199 and 5,819 in the previous year. These large figures were only possible by seriously restricting the length of stay in hospital of individual patients. The average length of stay was 3-4 days. The practice was to transport to their homes as many normal patients as possible on the first or second day after delivery to receive domiciliary care by visiting midwives. This arrangement was not accepted as a satisfactory one and was only made use of to meet in part, the very great demands on the hospital. In spite of all this. the hospital's performance was very satisfactory as is reflected in a maternal mortality rate of 0.7 per thousand, a still birth rate of 13.2 per thousand births and a neo-natal death rate of 12.2 per thousand live births.
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