MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1981
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$120-MILLION MENTAL HOSPITAL TO BE OPENED
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HONG KONG'S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE WILL TAKE ANOTHER BIG STEP FORWARD WHEN ITS SECOND MENTAL HOSPITAL, ON THE WESTERN PART OF THE KOWLOON PENINSULA AND COSTING $120 MILLION, IS OFFICIALLY OPENED ON THURSDAY (OCTOBER 15) BY THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE.
THE 1 336-BED KWAI CHUNG HOSPITAL, EQUIPPED WITH ADVANCED AND SOPHISTICATED TECHNOLOGY, HAS ALREADY BEGUN ADMITTING PATIENTS.
IT IS EXPECTED TO BE FULLY OPERATIONAL BY MID-1982, THUS REDUCING OVERCROWDING AT THE EXISTING CASTLE PEAK HOSPITAL.
CASTLE PEAK HOSPITAL IS THE ONLY MAJOR MENTAL HOSPITAL IN HONG KONG. ORIGINALLY DESIGNED TO ACCOMMODATE 1 200 BEDS, IT IS NOW TREATING MORE THAN 2 000 PATIENTS.
KWAI CHUNG HOSPITAL, OCCUPYING AN AREA OF 4.45 HECTARES, IS MADE UP OF SEVEN BLOCKS OF BUILDINGS LINKED BY A SYSTEM OF SUBWAYS.
IN THE HOSPITAL COMPLEX ARE A SINGLE-STOREY ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCK TWO MAJOR BLOCKS OF 11 AND NINE STOREYS PROVIDING 34 WARD UNITS- A FOUR-STOREY GENERAL AND SERVICES BLOCK HOUSING AN X-RAY UNITS, A LABORATORY AND AN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY DEPARTMENT- A TWO-STOREY BLOCK ACCOMMODATING KITCHENS AND CAR PARKS AND A MULTI-PURPOSE HALL AND STAFF QUARTERS.
THE DESIGN OF THE WHOLE COMPLEX IS SIMILAR TO THAT OF A GENERAL HOSPITAL BUT INCORPORATING SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS.
THERE WILL BE SPACIOUS AREAS IN BETWEEN EVERY TWO WARD UNITS FOR PATIENTS TO MOVE ABOUT, AS WELL AS PLAYGROUNDS, SPORTSFIELDS AND COVERED ROOF GARDENS.
SOME OF THE WARDS WILL BE AIR-CONDITIONED. EACH GENERAL WARD, IN ADDITION TO AN OPEN DORMITORY AREA, CONTAINS FIVE SINGLE ROOMS AND A SPACIOUS DAY AREA WHERE TELEVISION AND RADIO ARE PROVIDED.
SHARED BY TWO WARDS ARE A GROUP THERAPY ROOM, A VISITORS' ROOM, A DINING ROOM AND A TREATMENT ROOM.
AS DIFFERENT PATIENTS HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS, THERE WILL BE SEPARATE WARDS FOR CHILDREN, ADOLESCENT, OLD PEOPLE AND NEUROTIC PATIENTS.
CLOSED-CIRCUIT TELEVISION WILL BE INSTALLED IN PLACES SUCH AS THE PLAY AREA OF THE CHILDREN'S WARD, TO ENABLE OBSERVATION OF THE PATIENTS FOR DIAGNOSTIC PURPOSES.
/IN ORDER