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Reply:
To achieve optimal use of resources, medical and health facilities are planned in accordance with the geographical distribution of population.
General out-patient clinics are provided on the larger islands where there is a bigger population. The Department of Health operates a total of five clinics on Lantau, Peng Chau and Cheung Chau, operating either full-time or part-time. These provide out-patient medical services, maternal and child health services, maternity, tuberculosis and chest services. Four of the clinics provide 24-hour first aid services. Remote and sparsely populated areas are served by a floating clinic.
In addition to a general out-patient clinic, the St John's Hospital on Cheung Chau provides 93 beds, 24-hour emergency treatment and other general hospital services for Islands District residents.
Patients on the outlying islands who require secondary or tertiary care are referred by primary care physicians to hospitals or clinics on the mainland for treatment. Emergency transfer of accident and emergency patients to mainland hospitals is provided either by helicopter or police launch.
The average occupancy rate for St John's Hospital in 1993/94 was only about 55 per cent. Clinic services are similarly not yet fully utilised. Having regard to this, the present level of medical and health services for Islands District is considered adequate and on par with the urban area provision.
As for welfare services, a meaningful comparison between districts is possible only with regard to those services where population-based planning standards are adopted. All of these types of services (listed in the appendix) as provided in Island District meet the prescribed standards, except for places in care and attention homes for elderly persons where there is currently a shortfall of 50 places. This shortfall will, however, disappear on the completion of the Chung Shak Hei (Cheung Chau) Home for the aged in 1996/97.
The Administration takes a flexible approach in providing necessary services even when such are not strictly justified under the current planning standards. So, whereas the population of Island District may not justify the establishment of certain full-fledged welfare facilities according to the planning standards, a more flexible approach has been adopted, for example, by setting up youth centres (as in Mui Wo and Ping Chau) or by providing extension and outreaching services from units in the Central and Western District, as in the case of family life education programmes and family service centre services offered to families in Island District.