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Services to women over the age of 45 and to elderly people will be increased with the opening of a second Woman Health Centre and the third and fourth Elderly Health Centres in the coming year.

On food surveillance, Mrs Fok announced that a food control office would be set up at Man Kam To border crossing in December this year. This will enable the Department of Health to quadruple its inspection of vegetables from about 18,000 cases a year to 73,000 cases a year.

Despite the extra money earmarked for 1995/96, Mrs Fok stressed that there was a need to make better use of the existing resources.

In this respect, she said, the Government would be working with the subvented sectors to increase membership of day care centres for the elderly, to provide as from March 330 additional supported employment places in sheltered workshops, to establish in September the Student Health Service to offer promotive and preventive health care to all primary students, to install new facilities in five hospitals to improve safety and security for patients, and to develop advanced technologies in surgery to improve patient care and speed up their recovery.

"And none of these involve new money.

"We will achieve our aims by re-targeting our resources," Mrs Fok said.

End/Saturday, February 25, 1995

Effective Customs administration vital to HK

An effective Customs administration is vital to both the security and the integrity of borders, particularly as seen by Hong Kong's international trading partners, the Chief Secretary, Mrs Anson Chan, said.

Speaking at the passing-out parade of nos. 58 and 59 Inspector Induction Course and nos. 211 215 Customs Officer Induction Course today (Saturday), Mrs Chan said the Customs and Excise Department played a key role in Hong Kong's continuing economic growth.

The department has many facets, such as revenue protection, anti-smuggling: narcotics control, protection of intellectual property, import and export controls, and protection of consumers' rights.