49
-3-
of a very largely increased maintenance grant to the three hospitals operated by the Tung Wah Corporation, the Directors agreed to the vesting of the administrative control of the hospitals in a Medical Committee representative of the Government and the Corporation. The Tung Wah Corporation undertakes a wide range of charitable work as, for example, the provision of coffins and cemeteries, the granting of poor relief, the administration of funds raised for the victims of fires, railway accidents, and other disasters. This would continue to be the concern of the Tung Wah Directors and would in no way impede the work of the hospitals which are administered under an entirely separate budget. The Directors of the Corporation are willing to enter into a sealed agreement with the University covering the terms of the invitation, but until the University is in a position to undertake liability for the cost of the modifications and additions outlined above, no final agreement can be made.
7.
This Government is satisfied that the University may safely accept an invitation and need not insist on a formal lease as the basis of its agreement, and that at the end of 20 years there should be no difficulty in obtaining a renewal of the invitation. The hospitals can remain open only so long as they are in receipt of a heavy Government subsidy towards the cost of their maintenance and when for twenty years a scheme has been in operation whereby the number of out-patients has been more than doubled and the number of in-patients at least doubled, and when the quality of medical attention will have been far higher than hitherto has been possible, it is a reasonable assumption that the Tung Wah Corporation will be anxious to maintain the agreement that has now been negotiated.
8.
The enlargement of the hospital will naturally result in increased expenditure on staff and on drugs, fuel, light and maintenance generally. Some portion of the cost of the increased medical staff will be met by the University in that they will make the services of the senior members of their clinical units available without cost. But by far the greater portion of the additional cost will have to be met by means of an increase in the Government subsidy which already stands at $2 million, a figure which it may possibly be necessary to increase for the coming year. The rise in the recurrent expenditure of the hospital, consequent on its conversion to a teaching institution, will probably not take place before 1952/53, and not even an approximate figure can be given at the present stage. It is clear, however, that this Government must be prepared to raise the subsidy in about two years' time by an amount not very far short of half a million dollars. This aspect has been put to the Unofficial Members of Executive Council who agree that the commitment must be accepted in view of the importance of the project to medical education in the Colony, and also from the point of view of increasing the amount of hospital accommodation available to the community.
9.
The following papers are annexed to this despatch :-
(1) a letter addressed to the Secretary for Chinese Affairs as Chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital Advisory Committee; (Annexure 1).
(2) an extract from a Report made to the University Court at its meeting on the 16th November, 1948, on the provision of facilities for teaching