XN000022-1979-09-01 — Page 3

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1979

2

ANNUAL LONG-TERM SUPPLEMENT (FOR THOSE RECEIVING

PA FOR 12 MONTHS OR MORE)

B

FOR A SINGLE PERSON FOR A FAMILY

$290

$575

SPECIAL NEEDS ALLOWANCES

DISABILITY ALLOWANCE

OLD AGE ALLOWANCE

$230

$115

AT PRESENT, THE DEPARTMENT'S SOCIAL SECURITY FIELD UNITS HANDLE ABOUT 46 300 PUBLIC ASSISTANCE CASES, 137 000 OLD AGE ALLOWANCE CASES AND 21 900 DISABILITY ALLOWANCE CASES.

MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKERS LOOK AFTER PATIENTS AND THE IR FAMILIES

******

PATIENTS IN GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS NEED NOT WORRY HOW THEIR FAMILIES ARE FARING WHILE THEY ARE AWAY FROM HOME.

WHILE SOME MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL HELP THEM TO RECOVER FROM THEIR ILLNESS, OTHERS ARE LOOKING AFTER THE WELL-BEING OF THEIR FAMILIES,

THESE ARE THE 145 MEDICAL SOCIAL SERVICE OFFICERS OF THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH DEPARTMENT WHO PROVIDE REGIONAL SERVICE ON HONG KONG ISLAND, IN KOWLOON AND THE NEW TERRITORIES.

–

+THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS SERVICE IS TO ASSIST PATIENTS IN SOLVING PSYCHO-SOCIAL PROBLEMS BY HELPING THEM TO MAKE THE BEST OF THE MEDICAL CARE AND TO OVERCOME PERSONAL AND EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS ARISING FROM THE IR ILLNESS,+ EXPLAINED MISS PEGGY CHAN, THE PRINCIPAL MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKER IN CHARGE OF THE SERVICE.

ALONE.

BUT THE MEDICAL SOCIAL SERVICE IS NOT LIMITED TO THE PATIENT

+IT ALSO ASSISTS FAMILY MEMBERS WHO NEED HELP AS A RESULT OF THE ILLNESS SUFFERED BY THE PATIENT, SHE SAID.

FOR EXAMPLE, SHE SAID, IF A BREADWINNER WHO IS A

DRIVER LOST A LEG IN A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT WHILST AT WORK, OUR MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKERS WOULD FIRST HELP THE FAMILY OBTAIN EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

+APART FROM OFFERING SYMPATHY AND BUILDING UP THE MORALE OF THE PATIENT. OUR OFFICERS WOULD ALSO EXPLAIN TO HIM THAT HE STILL HAS THE ABILITY TO WORK WITH HIS HANDS AND MAKE A LIVING EVEN THOUGH HE HAD LOST A LEG.

+ARRANGEMENTS