TNAG-0507-FCO40-572-Development-of-medical-and-health-services-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 51

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 safe- guard 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 subsidized medical attention. 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 for in-patients and out-patients.

1.2 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. High 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 sanita- tion effectively determined this policy.

1.3 Water supply and sanitation have been greatly improved. However, Hong Kong is, and will inevitably remain, by reason of its geographical circumstances one of the most densely populated areas in the world. It attracts large numbers of travellers and big quantities of goods from all over the world. Yet the incidence of communicable disease remains low. For example, there has been no case of cholera since 1969 and tuberculosis is now under control. However the risk of epidemic requires a high level of vigilance and care to be maintained.

1.4 The post-war period has also seen positive action, by the Government and the voluntary agencies, to achieve progressive

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