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20
Wednesday, October 17, 1973
The Committee had suggested how Hong Kong should proceed to achieve
a whole series of new targets, and what demands this would make in money and
trained staff. More hospital beds was merely one of many recommendations.
The Committee's report embodying these recommendations would be
presented to the Legislative Council at its next meeting, and by early next year,
after the plans had been carefully considered by the public, professional bodies
and the government, a clear programme for development would be laid before the
Executive and Legislative Councils.
The Governor said the report "warns us that by the end of the decade,
we will need each year 100 more doctors than are being produced at present.
A dental school should be established so as to provide about 60 dentists each
year from 1980 onwards, and we should be planning now a further training schoo1
capable of taking 150 to 200 nurses a year."
Sir Murray described these recommendations as having "far-reaching
implications" for Hong Kong's universities, and involved "very considerable
cost," but he emphasised that, in view of the time lag between planning any
new medical training facilities and completion of the training of the first
students in then, the government would need "to think both fast and clearly."
He thanked Sir Albert and the Committee for having reduced "a
formidable mass of technical and administrative detail with admirable speed
into a clear and valuable report, " upon which would be based the government's
medical and health services in the 1980s.
In a reference to family planning, the Governor noted that earlier
this month the Medical and Health Department had begun to share with voluntary
agencies responsibility for developing and encouraging work in this field.
/Within