MONDAY, MAY 11, 1981
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PEOPLE LOOKED AFTER FROM CRADLE TO GRAVE+
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THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT TOOK CARE OF PEOPLE IN HONG KONG FROM +CRADLE TO GRAVE BY PROVIDING A WHOLE RANGE OF PREVENTIVE, CURATIVE AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES, DR S.H. LEE, SAID TODAY.
SPEAKING TO MEMBERS OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF TSUEN WAN, DR LEE SAID THERE WAS A GENERAL MISCONCEPTION AMONG THE PUBLIC THAT THE DEPARTMENT DEALT ONLY WITH TREATMENT OF PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS OR CLINICS.
+PEOPLE TEND TO MEASURE THE STANDARD OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES BY THE INPUT OF RESOURCES, SUCH AS THE NUMBER OF DOCTORS, NURSES, HOSPITAL BEDS AND CLINICS, INTO THE SERVICES, HE SAID.
BUT MORE IMPORTANT, DR LEE SAID, WAS THE OUTPUT OF SUCH SERVICES, MEASURED IN TERMS OF THE INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNISED HEALTH INDICES, SUCH AS THE MATERNAL, INFANT AND PERI-NATAL MORTALITY RATES.
HE SAID THE MAIN OBJECTIVE OF ANY RESPONSIBLE HEALTH AUTHORITY MUST BE TO PROVIDE A BALANCED PROGRAMME OF DEVELOPMENT OF PREVENTIVE, PROMOTIVE, CURATIVE AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, AND NOT JUST HOSPITAL OR CLINIC SERVICES.
+WHEN ONE HAS TO USE THE FACILITIES IN A HOSPITAL IT MAY IMPLY THAT THERE IS A FAILURE IN THE PREVENTIVE AND PROMOTIVE ASPECT OF THE SERVICES, BECAUSE, IF WE ARE ABLE TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM GETTING ILL OR INJURED, THEY WILL NOT END UP IN A HOSPITAL,+ ME SAID.
THE SUCCESS OF THE DEPARTMENT'S PREVENTIVE PROGRAMME IN ERADICATING POLIOMYELITIS AND TUBERCULOSIS OF THE BONES AND SPINE AMONG CHILDREN WAS AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF THE WISE APPLICATION OF THE DEPARTMENT'S RESOURCES, HE SAID.
EXTENSIVE IMMUNISATION PROGRAMMES CARRIED OUT BY THE DEPARTMENT HAD RESULTED IN A DRASTIC REDUCTION IN THE NEED FOR HOSPITAL FACILITIES AND REHABILITATION SERVICES, SO MUCH SO THAT HOSPITAL BEDS INTENDED FOR PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM THESE DISEASES COULD NOW BE USED FOR OTHER PURPOSES, DR LEE SAID.
AS A RESULT ALSO OF THE DEPARTMENT'S INTENSIVE EFFORTS IN PREVENTIVE SERVICES, THERE HAD BEEN, OVER THE PAST THREE DECADES A STEADY DECLINE IN THE INFANT MORTALITY AND MATERNAL MORTALITY RATES IN HONG KONG.
THESE HEALTH INDICES WERE ONE OF THE LOWEST IN THE WORLD AND COMPARED FAVOURABLY WITH THOSE IN THE MOST ADVANCED COUNTRIES, DR LEE SAID.
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