6.
in hospital (with provision for waiver when necessary)
are charged. The present number of hospital
beds is 18,000 or 4.1 per thousand population and will
be 21,500 or 4.5 per thousand population by 1980. It
is envisaged that the proportion will continue to
rise at least at this rate over the following 5 years.
The progressive implementation of plans to rationalise
use of beds on a regional basis, and alignment of
fees charged in subvented hospitals with those charged
in Government hospitals, should do much to relieve over-
crowding of the latter, as should the steady provision
of additional beds, but clearly the target of 5.5 beds
per thousand population by the end of 1982 set in the
1974 White Paper will not be met.
8.
Pressure on medical services
comes not only from increase in the size of the population
(5.1 million by 1985) but also rapid change in its
composition.
Hong Kong's exceptionally young population
has been growing up over the past ten years and there
are now many more people at the age at which they
raise families. In 1974 the clinics managed by the
Family Planning Association were taken over by Government
and have since been integrated into the Family Health
Service which in 1975 operated from 38 centres each
of which provides a comprehensive free health care
programme for women of child-bearing age and children
from birth to five years. Total attendance at family
planning clinics in 1974/75 was 150,000.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.