hospitals or clinics, or for their relatives to visit them in hospital, and for various forms of help in re-establishment after discharge, the total expenditure being $4,578.
Workmen's Compensation Ordinance.
116. The Workmen's Compensation Ordinance gives welcome relief to many injured workmen and their families and is helpful to the almoners in that it makes compulsory much that was previously only achieved by prolonged negotiation and it ensures aid from the less conscientious employer. Nevertheless it intro- duces methods and principles which are strange to many injured workmen and a great deal of time has to be spent by the almoners in clearing the mind of the patient, whose recovery is apt to be retarded if he feels that adequate compensation for his injury is being overlooked.
Stores and Supplies.
117. In general there has been no serious hold up in the supply of equipment. Money has heen saved by making as many items of surgical furniture as are possible either in the Department's own workshop or in the workshops at Government Stores. New high pressure sterilizers of an improved modern rectangular type have been installed in the Queen Mary Hospital. The old ones, which had seen service for many years and were considered unfit for further use, were removed and from them it was possible to build one high pressure sterilizer to be used at the new Tsan Yuk Hospital.
Technical Improvements.
118. Air conditioning was introduced into the out-patients Department, Dental Centre, Casualty Operating Theatre and the second major operation theatres at Kowloon Hospital. The Operating Theatre and X-ray Department at Lai Chi Kok Hospital were also air conditioned. At Lai Chi Kok Hospital also a large new incinerator was installed and the kitchen was fitted with an auxiliary cold room for food storage.
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Planning Committees.
119. Two new planning committees were organized during the year:
(a) A special Sub-Committee to consider the prepara- tion of comprehensive lists of furnishings, fixtures and equipment for the new Kowloon Hospital in order to ascertain what articles could be manu- factured locally.
(b) A Departmental Planning Committee to advise on
new establishments.
Building Programme,
120. At the beginning of the year a new clinic was opened in Wanchai which provides chest, dental, and physiotherapy services. It replaces older and less satisfactory facilities provided in other premises now adapted for other purposes and is therefore not so much a new development as an improvement on existing services, but it has resulted nevertheless in a large increase in the volume of work being handled. A little later in the year the Maurine Grantham Health Centre at Tsun Wan was opened by Lady Grantham. This centre was built with funds raised by a group of benevolent residents of the Colony. It is a typical rural health centre offering curative and preventive services, the upper storey being a small but well equipped maternity hospital. Work has already started on enlarging this health centre to meet the heavy demands made upon it during the few months in which it has been operating. Also during the year work was completed on the new 200 bed Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital which will shortly replace the existing over- crowded and antiquated hospital. Much progress has also been made in the detailed planning of new institutions, including a 1,275 bed general hospital for Kowloon, a hospital for mental diseases, and a multi-storied polyclinic, as well as certain smaller health centres and clinics in the New Territories and resettle- meut areas.
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