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Dental Health

23. His Excellency the Governor, Sir Murray MACLEHOSE, in his address to the Legislative Council on 18th October, announced that a school dental health programme to provide children with routine check-ups and simple conservative treatment was being considered by the Government. Initially, he thought the programme might cover all children entering Primary I in a given year. It could gradually be extended to cover all children in the primary school age group, and later, in the light of experience, we might consider extending it to post-primary school children', Sir Murray said to provide scuh a service, it would be necessary to set up a school for training dental

nurses.

24. So far, the Department's dental service provides comprehensive dental care for all monthly-paid government officers, their dependents, and pensioners, in addition to a limited treatment programme for in- patients of government hospitals, prisoners, and trainees at training centres. Clinics in densely-populated urban and rural areas also pro- vide emergency dental treatment for the general public, and a monthly helicopter 'fying doctor' service makes treatment available to residents in inaccessible areas.

25. His Excellency's announcement indicated for the first time the direction which the Department's dental service would take to extend the scope of its activities. During the year, work proceeded on plans for the proposed dental nurses training school, to be located in the Morrison Hill area close to the Tang Shiu Kin Hospital.

Family Planning

26. The Governor also referred in his speech to the future direct par- ticipation of the Medical and Health Department in family planning. His Excellency explained that, since the mid-1950s, the Government had supported family planning mainly by subventions to the Family Planning Association and the Catholic Marriage Advisory Council.

27. During the past decade, the decline in Hong Kong's birth rate had been significant. It had fallen from 40 per 1,000 of the population in 1962 to 19.4 per 1,000 of the population in 1971. But it was clearly in the public interest and family health, baving regard to the pressure generated by people on services such as housing and education, that *the blessing of children should be bestowed at a rate which is planned and not profligate', the Governor said.

New Laundry Building

28. Another development worthy of note in 1972 was the opening of a new laundry in Chai Wan, Until then, most of the Department's washing was carried out by a special unit in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, commissioned in 1964. An investigation in 1965 showed that by 1972, even with the expansion of this unit to handle one million lbs, of laundry a month, future additional laundry requirements were likely to exceed the availble facilities by 50 per cent, or 500,000 lbs. a month.

29. In effect, by the beginning of this year, the machinery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, working in two shifts a day, was processing 1,100,000 lbs. of laundry, a month. This was clearly unsatisfactory, because little opportunity could be taken either for maintenance or repairs. There was also the problem that would arise with the expected opening of the Princess Margaret Hospital in 1974, when the Depart- cent's laundry requirements would be increased substantially.

30. It was in these circumstances that construction of the new laundry at Chai Wan was conceived and undertaken. It was designed not only to meet growing pressures, but also to reduce the work load of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital unit to a reasonable limit. The total cost of the project amounted to $8.4 million, of which $2.7 million was set aside for the purchase and installation of equipment, including two of the most modern, fully-automatic, continuous-flow washing machines. These 'tunnel' washers, as they are called, are not only the largest laundry equipment ever to be installed in Hong Kong, but are also believed to be the only two of their kind in Southeast Asia. The new laundry is handling 1,100,000 lbs. of departmental washing a month.

Past and Future Development

31. The Department's 10-year Plan, issued as a White Paper in 1964, and kept under constant review by the Medical Development Plan Standing Committee, ended on 31st March, 1973. With the Plan's conclusion, the Standing Committee also ceased to function. The target of providing 4.25 hospital beds per 1,000 of the population was achieved with the completion of the projects in the pipeline.

32. A Medical Development Advisory Committee, under the chair- manship of Dr. the Hon. Sir Albert RODRIGUES, and the Director of Medical and Health Services as its vice-chairman, was set up by the Government on 27th March. It replaced the defunct Standing Com-

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