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The Department of Health adopts a similar mechanism to ensure the timely provision of facilities to meet projected population growth or movement. For example, a general out-patient clinic is planned for every 100,000 persons and the Student Health Service will cover all the students in Hong Kong. In the next three years, the department will provide 17 new polyclinics and health centres, bringing the total number of service units to 341.
Apart from existing services, we are also exploring new programmes to meet changing needs of the community. The introduction of elderly services centres and the setting up of outreach medical teams, i.e. the community geriatric assesment team and the psychogeriatric team, are some examples of this approach.
The Hospital Authority will take into account results of the Territorial Development Strategy Review and population distribution forecasts in reviewing the need for hospital services. We understand that the population distribution forecasts by the Planning Department will be available in late 1997.
End
Compulsory retirement for civil servants
Following is a question by Dr the Hon Anthony Cheung Bing-leung and a reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mr W K Lam, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
According to the Civil Service Personnel Statistics published annually by the Civil Service Branch, within the eight year period from 1987/88 to 1994/95, a total of 844 civil servants were required by the Government to go on compulsory retirement under Colonial Regulations (the Regulations). Of these 844 civil servants, 812 (96%) were local officers and 32 (4%) were overseas officers. Moreover, more than 200 officers were on compulsory retirement each year from 1990/91 to 1992/93. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
of the main reasons for the comparatively greater number of civil servants required to go on compulsory retirement from 1990/91 to 1992/93 than those in other years within the above mentioned period;