XN000022-1981-10-15 — Page 2

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1981

GOVERNOR OPENS HOSPITAL FOR MENTALLY ILL

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THE GOVERNOR, SIR MURRAY MACLEHOSE, SAID TODAY THAT HONG KONG HAS MADE DRAMATIC AND INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNISED PROGRESS IN THE PROVISION OF MEDICAL SERVICES OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES.

WITH THE OPENING OF THE KWAI CHUNG HOSPITAL, HONG KONG HAS PASSED ANOTHER MILESTONE IN THE FIELD OF MENTAL HEALTH, HE SAID THIS AFTERNOON AS HE DECLARED OPEN THE $120-MILLION SECOND MAJOR MENTAL HOSPITAL NEAR LAI CHI KOK.

THE OPENING OF THE 1 300-BED HOSPITAL INCREASES THE NUMBER

OF BEDS FOR THE MENTALLY ILL BY ALMOST 60 PER CENT.

TWO DECADES AGO, SAID SIR MURRAY, THERE WAS FOR THE WHOLE OF HONG KONG A SMALL HOSPITAL FOR THE MENTALLY ILL IN HIGH STREET, WHERE OUTPATIENT CONSULTATIONS WERE HELD ONLY TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK.

TODAY, THERE ARE THREE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS, THREE PSYCHIATRIC UNITS IN GENERAL HOSPITALS AND ALSO FOUR MENTAL HEALTH CENTRES EACH OF WHICH HAS A DAY HOSPITAL AND A FULL-TIME OUTPATIENT CLINIC. TOGETHER THEY PROVIDE AROUND 3 700 BEDS, 180 DAY HOSPITAL PLACES AND 25 CONSULTATION ROOMS.

SIR MURRAY SAID THAT MUCH MORE NEEDED TO BE DONE.

HE POINTED OUT THAT THE PROFESSIONAL TREND IS TOWARDS OUTPATIENT TREATMENT WHEREVER POSSIBLE, WHICH WOULD MEAN THAT FACILITIES SHOULD BE MADE EASILY ACCESSIBLE.

ACCORDINGLY, THE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO BUILD FOUR DAY-HOSPITALS AND FOUR PSYCHIATRIC CLINICS IN EAST KOWLOON AND THE NEW TERRITORIES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING MORE PSYCHIATRIC BEDS IN THE QUEEN MARY EXTENSION, AND THE NEW HOSPITALS IN TUEN MUN AND SHA TIN.

THE DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES, DR K.L. THONG, ALSO SPOKE AT THE OPENING CEREMONY.

HE SAID THE NEW HOSPITAL INCORPORATES THE MOST ADVANCED AND MODERN FACILITIES FOR THE CARE AND TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEMS,

THE OPERATING THEATRE OF THE HOSPITAL, FOR INSTANCE, IS FITTED WITH THE LATEST LASER BEAM BI-PLANE RADIOLOGICAL EQUIPMENT AND OTHER PSYCHO-SURGICAL EQUIPMENT FOR STEREOTACTIC SURGERY ON THE BRAIN.

THERE IS ALSO AN ELECTROGRAPHIC DIAGNOSTIC UNIT WITH SOPHISTICATED EQUIPMENT WHICH HAS WIDE APPLICATIONS IN DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH IN NEUROLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY.

/+ALL THESE