this assistance was provided to 198 families of which twenty seven were Government servants', at a total cost of HK$85,055. The calls on the fund by Government servants have aguin fallen, the number treated in hospital being smaller as a result of the success of ambulatory chemotherapy.
210. Rehabilitation grants may be made, on the successful termina- tion of treatment, to enable patients to take up suitable work. Normally these grants are used for the purchase of hawkers" licences and for capital to start up in business. This type of business is becoming much less attractive due to the keen competition and only $950 was spent in this way during the year.
211. Of the total money available there was an increased expenditure on financial assistance, compared with last year, from $68,400 to $85,055. A contributory factor to this increase was the additional commitment al Grantham Hospital-twenty two families in all. As a result of the drop in the number of CARE parcels and the increased number of patients on ambulatory treatment who are in receipt of milk powder, the ex- penditure on milk powder rose from $59,236.00 to $107.968.00. An additional factor in this rise was an increase in the price of milk powder.
212. Assistance in kind is provided in the form of milk powder, to patients undergoing treatment at the clinics, on the basis of one pound per patient per week. On this basis $2,622 pounds of milk powder were issued, an increase of 150% as compared with last year. In addition 2,023 CARE parcels and 800 lbs. of rice were also distributed to patients.
213. Ninety two patients were referred to the Social Welfare Office for assistance in the form of food and twenty three were referred to the Hong Kong Family Welfare Society for other assistance.
Tuberculosis Visitors
214. Contact with the patient in the home and in the clinic is maintained through the Tuberculosis Visitors. The Tuberculosis Visitors differ from their counterparts elsewhere in that emphasis during training is laid on the lay approach to the patients and previous training as a nurse is regarded as a disadvantage, instead of, as else- where, being a basic qualification. A further difference is that they are responsible, not to the medical staff, but to the Almoner through a Senior Tuberculosis Visitor at each clinic. This arrangement was introduced in the first instance as an experimental measure, but has
42
proved to be an unqualified success, and is at present attracting attention from other authorities who have problems similar to those in Hong Kong.
215.
Home visiting is normally conducted in the afternoons, so that The Tuberculosis Visitors are available for other duties in the first half of the day, mainly in connexion with the reception of patients. The calls upon their time have been steadily increasing with the introduction of additional clinical sessions in outlying areas, in evening clinics and in special clinics. As a result, the time available for home visiting has been curtailed, and must remain so until it is possible to distribute the load to the additional staff becoming available when new clinics are opened. 216. The work done in connexion with home visits was as follows:
TABLE 17
First visits to patients
Revisils
Total visits
Contact cards issued
Contacts sent for examination
B.C.G. Vaccination
་ ་་
1956
1957
9,550
7,766
5,021
4.826
15,621
12.592
13,836
15.028
10.857 !1,403
217. B.C.G. vaccination was started in 1952 under the sponsorship of UNICEF. when an intensive campaign was started and continued until 1955. The 'Campaign' as such was then discontinued and the personnel dispersed and absorbed into other sections of the Medical Department. The function of the Central B.C.G, office is now mainly that of a supply organization. It has a total staff of four,
218. The B.C.G, vaccination figures since the beginning of the cam- paign are as follows:
TABLE 18
Tuberculia Test Completed Negative
vaccinated
38.606
BCG Vaccination New Borns
Grand total vaccinated
Year
test
vaccinated
1932
176,728
38,173
3,120
41.293
1953
77,422
27.024
4,883
31,907
1954
32,620
15.234
3,050
18,284
1955
15,775
9,587
25,362
1956
38.523
5,629
23.418
29,047
1957
34,737
10,074
35,149
45,223
Total
438,636
111,909
79,207
191,116
43