TNAG-0507-FCO40-572-Development-of-medical-and-health-services-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 103

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CONFIDENTIAL **

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1

The two main principles of Government policy

underlying this White Paper are, and will continue to be,

the need to safeguard and promote the general public

health of the community as a whole and the need to ensure

the provision of medical and personal health facilities for

the people of Hong Kong, including particularly that

large section of the community which relies on

subsidised medical attention. To these ends this

White Paper is concerned primarily with the action

needed to expand the major areas of the Government's

medical and health services, that is to say, with the

maintenance and expansion of the general public health

services (including the prevention and control of

disease) and with the development of additional facilities

and services both for in-patients and also for out-

patients.

1.2

High

In the immediate post-war years priority was

given to the establishment of services concerned with the

prevention and control of disease, and particularly of

the epidemic diseases of smallpox and cholera.

priority was also given to the development of quarantine

and epidemiological services, of maternal and child

health services and of measures to control the major

menace of tuberculosis.

Dense overcrowding, exiguous

water supplies and inadequate housing and environmental

sanitation effectively determined this policy.

1.3

apparent.

The wisdom of the policy thus adopted remains

Major strides have been taken to improve such

matters as water supply and sanitation but

Hong Kong is, and will inevitably

CONFIDENTIAL #B

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