275. There was a considerable improvement in the equip- ment supply situation, certain items outstanding for a consider- able period having been received. However, in view of the general increase in prices, particularly of surgical furniture, local manufacture, in certain instances, was undertaken. The costs of these locally made items compared very favourably indeed with those obtaining in the United Kingdom.
276. The transport and ambulance services operated with reasonable smoothness, particularly as four new trucks and two new travelling dispensaries were received in replacement of worn-out vehicles. During the year, after considerable discus- sion, it was decided to centralize all Government ambulances under the administration of the Chief Officer of the Fire Brigade and arrangements were being made at the close of the year,
to transfer vehicles operated by the Medical Department, together with the necessary staff. The ambulance service answered 11,682 calls as compared with 26,085 calls in 1951. The number of patients carried was 19,985 and the mileage covered 143,608 miles. The corresponding figures for the previous year were 27,907 patients and 161,280 miles.
Births & Deaths Registration
277. The Births & Deaths Registration Ordinance provides machinery for the registration of these events. The Director of Medical & Health Services is the Registrar of Births & Deaths. The General Registry Office is situated in the centre of Victoria and there are a number of branch registries throughout the Colony.
278. There was again a considerable increase in the work undertaken by this sub-department resulting largely from the much greater number of applications received for birth certi- ficates. The number of birth certificates issued in 1952 was 69,883 as compared with 46,616 in 1951.
VIII. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 279. During the year under review, the Department received useful assistance from the World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.
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Certain projects, in which assistance from these organizations was received, have already been referred to elsewhere in this report, namely, the anti-diphtheria campaign and the B.C.G. vaccination campaign. In addition, assistance was provided in a Maternal & Child Health project under which the Senior Health Officer was sent on a fellowship overseas to visit various countries in North Europe and the United States to study Maternal & Child Health work. This project also provided for an international team to come to the Colony to strengthen Maternal & Child Health Services but, unfortunately, the inter- national personnel had not arrived by the end of the year,
280. Apart from providing diphtheria toxoid and B.C.G. vaccine, U.N.I.C.E.F. provided a not inconsiderable quantity of equipment for Maternal & Child Health Clinics and hospitals and, în addition, supplies of dried milk were received for dis- tribution to children.
281. Visits from W.H.0. short-term consultants in trachoma and venereal disease were of considerable value to the depart- ment and helped to focus attention on these particular subjects.
IX. TRAINING OF PERSONNEL
282. In addition to the overseas training referred to in para. 15 training of personnel was undertaken in the Colony as follows:
Doctors
283. Under-graduate medical training is undertaken by the University of Hong Kong whose medical degree is not only acceptable for registration in the Colony but is accepted by the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom for registration there. The number of medical graduates during 1962 was 33.
Nurses & Dressers
284. Training schools for uurses (female and male) are operated by Government in its two main general hospitals where teaching is conducted in the English language. In the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals and the Nethersole Hospital there are
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