XN000022-1976-01-19 — Page 8

1975

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MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 1976.

A BUSY YEAR FOR AMBULANCE COMMAND

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THE NUMBER OF CALLS DEALT WITH BY THE AMBULANCE COMMAND OF THE FIRE SERVICES DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN RISING EACH YEAR AS A RESULT OF GREATER ACCEPTANCE BY THE PUBLIC OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED.

ACCORDING TO STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY, THE COMMAND ANSWERED A TOTAL OF 126,538 CALLS DURING 1975 COMPARED WITH 109,103 FOR THE PREVIOUS YEAR. THIS REPRESENTS AN INCREASE OF 16 PER CENT.

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OF THE TOTAL, 42,343 WERE ON HONG KONG ISLAND 58,959 IN KOWLOON AND 25,236 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES. ABOUT 85 PER CENT OF THESE CALLS WERE EMERGENCY CASES.

THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS CARRIED SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 15 PER CENT, FROM 132,775 IN 1974 TO 152,816 IN 1975.

THE COMMAND, WHICH HAS A STAFF OF 560, WAS TOTALLY COMMITTED ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS DURING THE YEAR, A NEW RECORD WAS SET ON DECEMBER 23 .HEN IT ANSWERED A TOTAL OF 456 CALLS OR 19 CALLS EVERY HOUR.

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AMBULANCES ARE BASED IN FIRE STATIONS AS WELL AS IN ANBULANCE DEPOTS SO AS TO GIVE WIDER COVERAGE. AT PRESENT, THE COMMAND HAS A FLEET OF 91 AMZULANCES AND THERE ARE NINE DEPOTS/STATIONS.

TO COPE WITH THE INCREASING DEMAND, THE AMBULANCE FLEET IS TO BE FURTHER EXPANDED AND THERE ARE ALSO FLANS FOR SEVERAL NEW DEPOTS AND STATIONS BY 1980. THE FIRST OF THESE WILL DE A STATION AT HING WAH ESTATE IN CHAI WAN WHICH IS DUE FOR COMPLETION SHORTLY.

TRAINING OF PERSONNEL IN MODERN AMBULANCE AID METHODS CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR UNDER REVIEW. A NUMBER OF AMBULANCE SUPERVISORS HAD ATTENDED COURSES ON EMERGENCY MATERNITY AND INFANT CARE AT THE QUEEN ELIZABETH HOSPITAL NURSING SCHOOL.

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