XN000022-1974-07-17 — Page 3

-

----

1

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 1974

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

THE WHITE PAPER ON THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES IN HONG KONG BETWEEN NOW AND 1984, INVOLVING MASSIVE CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AMOUNTING TO $914 MILLION, WAS TABLED IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, TODAY.

INTRODUCING THE WHITE PAPER, DR. THE HON. CERALD CHOA, DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES, SAID THE AMOUNT WOULD ALSO ROUGHLY DOUBLE THE ANNUALLY RECURRENT EXPENDITURE TO ABOUT $900 MILLION AT CURRENT PRICES.

HE EXPLAINED THAT ANY CAPITAL WORKS PROGRAMME OF THE HAGNITUDE PROPOSED IN THE WHITE PAPER MUST TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES OF HONG KONG FROM YEAR TO YEAR,

THE GOVERNMENT WAS CONFIDENT THAT OF THE $914 MILLION EXPENDITURE PROPOSED, ABOUT $690 MILLION WOULD BE SPENT BETWEEN NOW AND 1984 ON A LARGE NUMBER OF IMPORTANT PROJECTS ALREADY IN CATEGORIES A AND B OF THE PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAMME.

OTHERS INCLUDED HOSPITALS AND POLYCLINICS AT SHA TIN AND TUEN MUN, THE SECOND MEDICAL SCHOOL AT THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, THE DENTAL SCHOOL AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, THE SCHOOL DENTAL SERVICE, AND THE THIRD NURSES TRAINING SCHOOL AT THE PRINCESS MARGARET HOSPITAL.

RECURRENT EXPENDITURE AT CURRENT PRICES ON MEDICAL SERVICES WOULD RISE TO ABOUT $800 MILLION WHEN THESE PROJECTS WERE COMPLETED - SO THEIR TIMING WOULD HAVE TO DEPEND +AS MUCH ON THE GOVERNMENT'S ABILITY TO TAKE ON SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL RECURRENT EXPENDITURE AS ON THE FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR CAPITAL WORKS.+

DR. CHOA SAID THE OTHER PROJECTS LISTED IN THE WHITE PAPER, AMOUNTING TO $224 MILLION, WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED +AS SOON AFTER 1984 AS ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES PERMIT.+

IN A REFERENCE TO COMMENTS RECEIVED FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AS A RESULT OF PUBLICATION OF THE REPORT OF THE MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE, UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE HON. SIR ALBERT RODRIGUES, DR. CHOA SAID REPLIES WOULD BE APPARENT FROM THE CHANGES MADE IN THE WHITE PAPER FROM THE +GREEN+ PAPER PUBLISHED LAST OCTOBER.

HE GAVE AN ASSURANCE TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO HAD. VOICED THEIR CONCERN THAT EVEN IF THERE HAD BEEN NO DISCERNIBLE REACTION, THEIR COMMENTS HAD NOT BEEN OVERLOOKED, AND WHERE THEY WERE OF ANY VALUE, THEY WOULD BE PURSUED EITHER IN THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT, OR THROUGH THE MEDICAL DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE AS IT MET REGULARLY TO REV JEW DEVELOPMENTS.

/HE EMMAISED