XN000022-1977-01-31 — Page 2

- 1

—

Monday, January 31, 1977

IK TO HAVE 3,000 MORE HOSPITAL BEDS IN FIVE YEARS

E

The Director of Medical and Health Services, Dr. ... hong,

said today that an additional 3,000 hospital beds rould be available

for use within the next five years, boosting the total number of

beds in Hong Kong to 22,000, or 4.5 beds per thousand population.

The development of new hospitals and clinics will take

into account the geographical distribution and movement of population

and the development of new towns, he said.

i

Dr. Thong was speaking at a luncheon meeting of the

Association of Past Chairmen of the Previous Boards of Directors of

Tung "ah Group of Hospitals this afternoon.

Cutlining plans for the period up to 1981/82, the Director

said the broad objective of future development of medical and health

services was not only to build more hospitals and clinics to meet

expected population growth but to improve and expand existing

services and introduce new services to meet the changing demands of

the comunity.

On hospital projects, the psychiatric wing of the Princess

Margaret Mospital, providing 1,300 beds, is scheduled for completion

in 1980, and a health centre at East Kowloon will be completer a

year later. Work on the 1,300-bed Sha Tin Hospital, which is to

become the teaching hospital for the new medical school at the

Chinese University, will commence in 1979 and the target date for

completion is 1982/83.

+ In the