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expenditure (other than capital) to provide a free service to patients when it does not provide a generally free service in its own hospitals. Neither is it irrelevant that the budgetted recurrent medical subvention for the Tung Wah Group in 1973-74 was an increase of 28% on the previous year and for 1974-5, of 30% on 1973-74.
20
The introduction of the new regional scheme and the integrated hospital bed arrangements provides a most suitable opportunity for the Tung Wah Group to agree a change in their practice for the reasons proposed by the MDAC. It is therefore intended that consultation with the Group be further pursued at an early date with the objective of securing their co-operation on the basis proposed by MDAC.
The need for additional hospital development
21
Even with the full implementation of the new arrangements described in paragraphs 13 to 20 above it is clear from the MDAC assessment of expected patient needs by 1982 that additional hospitals will be required.
22
The Committee estimated that 27, 495 hospital beds would be required by 1982 (paragraph 9 of their report). By the end of 1982, there are likely to be only 20, 115 beds available, in the absence of further development by Government (on the assumptions indicated in paragraph 7. 4 of the draft White Paper). To make good this shortfall of 7, 380 beds, would be equivalent to providing about the same number of beds (7, 596) as there are at present in all Government hospitals (including for this purpose temporary and substandard beds).
23
The MDAC acknowledged the constraints which would inhibit achieving the recommended standard of 5.5 beds per 1,000 population (paragraph 27 of their report). Towards meeting it however, the MDAC proposals for the development of new hospitals at East Kowloon, Sha Tin, Tuen Mun and Shau Kei Wan, should be accepted subject to the caveat that the implementation of all these proposals is unlikely to be possible by 1983/84 (the hospitals at Shau Kei Wan and East Kowloon are included in "phase two" referred to in paragraph 8 above).
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