XN000022-1974-01-09 — Page 9

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Wednesday, January 9, 1974

For those applying for Infirmity and Disability Allowances,

Mr. Li said, an additional medical assessment was required for those whose

medical history was unknown to the Medical and Health Department.

A medical examination could normally be arranged within two to

four weeks for a physically disabled patient, he said However some difficulty

was experienced with mental patients due to a shortage of psychiatric doctors

and the failure of the patients to keep appointments. A total of 45,000

applications for Infirmity and Disability Allowances have been received

since the scheme started in April last year.

The final stage of authorisation and payment at present takes

about one month, Mr. Li said.

"However, with the steady reduction of the

back-log of work being handled by the Social Welfare Department, this can

soon be expected to come down to a normal period of about one week."

Existing staff were working substantial amounts of overtime, and

staff wore diverted from other duties to help clear application back-log,

he said.

"Procedures for processing applications are kept under constant

review but they will be examined with particular care in connection with

long-term staff proposals.

"Every effort is being made and will continue to be made to reduce

and finally eliminate any back-log of work," he emphasised.

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