C 9
Special attention was paid to effecting economies in the Chinese and European dispensaries, but a deficit could not be avoided, and was met by the organization of a theatrical entertainment in November at the Taiping theatre, which lasted for twelve days and nights, and realised $15,506.
Of the 2,084 destitutes sent home by the hospital, 1,650 were men who had presented themselves as assisted emigrants, and were sent home at the cost of the boarding houses.
The sum appropriated by Government for the supply of European medicines and surgical appliances to the Tung Wa Hospital has for some years proved insufficient, and has now been raised to $2,500, which it is believed should prove ample. At the same time and with the consent of the directors, the general promise made in 1896 to supply these articles without charge up to any amount, has been withdrawn.
Nine hundred and two (902) vaccinations were performed at the hospital (987 in 1907 and 1,410 in 1908), the hospital vaccinators also visited the villages in the Colony where they vaccinated 314 persons, and the New Territories where 365 persons were vaccinated—201 at Au Tau, 132 at Sheung Shui, 27 at Tai Po and 5 at Ping Shan.
The number of admissions has risen again and is 4,255 as against 3,723 in 1909. The proportion of those receiving European treatment remains practically the same. The number of out-patients was 111,749. The percentage receiving European treatment has risen from 45 to 79. The number of destitutes sent home was 2,084, of these 1,918 were sent to the hospital by the Registrar General.
The accounts of the hospital, which are attached to the report, are as provided by Ordinance for the Chinese Kang Sut year. This year consisted of 354 days as against the 384 days of the preceding Ki Yau year.
An accurate comparison between the expenditure for the two years is not therefore possible. The total expenditure, which included no extraordinary items, was $92,954, compared with $100,408 ordinary expenditure in 1909. A considerable saving was made under the heading Chinese Drugs and less had to be spent on repairs. The expenditure on the Quarters for Destitutes and on rebuilding the Ko Fong appears under a separate account and is being defrayed out of a special subscription. The ordinary receipts for the year amounted only to $75,347. The deficit was filled from the proceeds of the theatrical performance and by appropriating $3,153 from the fund raised for building the quarters for destitutes.
The Kwong Wa Hospital at Yaumati is practically completed. The servants' quarters still remain to be built; delay has been caused by the length of time taken to cut back a hill which occupied that portion of the site. A committee has been appointed to raise subscriptions to defray the cost of furnishing, and has made considerable progress with its task. The expenditure on the buildings during the year was $62,291. The accounts have been audited by Mr. Li Yau-chin and Mr. Tang Chi-ngong.