4.
extension of the Student Health Service to cover 443,000 secondary school students; and
* with a grant of $8 million from the AIDS Trust Fund, a community-based AIDS Education, Research and Resource Centre to tailor AIDS education programmes to target groups at risk.
Moreover, funding has been secured for 1,400 nursing home beds to help reduce the pressure on infirmary beds.
As regards the Hospital Authority, its recurrent grant in 1996-97 will amount to $19.2 billion, an increase of 14.8 per cent over this year. The following improved or new facilities will be provided:
* 830 new beds;
a dialysis centre to serve 100 chronic patients with end-stage renal failure;
* two rehabilitation co-ordination teams to provide rehabilitation programmes
and enhance community care for 1,000 chronic patients;
one community geriatric assessment team and three psychogeriatric teams to strengthen outreach medical and psychiatric support for 15,000 elderly patients;
a pilot adolescent care centre to provide medical and psychiatric care to adolescents in need; and
eight patients and carers resource centres to promote the concept of self-help and mutual support among patient groups.
Furthermore, the final phase of the Castle Peak Hospital redevelopment will take place during the year at a capital cost of about $850 million.
"This will enable us to improve the curative and rehabilitative services for mental patients so that they can enjoy better prospects for reintegration into society," Mrs Fok said.
End