was added to the division with the taking over by Government of Fanling Hospital. Plans have been made to include ultrasonics in the service, first at Queen Mary Hospital during 1974/5.
160.
The radiotherapy division based at the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary Hospitals treated more than 90 per cent of all patients requiring radio- therapy in the whole of Hong Kong and also operates a Colony-wide cancer registry. A new treatment simulator for radiotherapy planning has been ordered and will be installed at Queen Hary Hospital during 1974.
161.
The radioisotope service provides both diagnostic and therapeutic Facilities. Because of its modest outlay, it serves mainly government institutions, but a consultant service is also available, on a limited scale, to the Tung wah group of hospitals, and medical practitioners in private practice, A gamma camera will be added to the scanning equipment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 1974.
162.
The radiation physics division is responsible for the operation of the radioisotope laboratories and the radiological workshop. The latter provides a maintenance service for government radiological equipment, and also a film-badge radiation monitoring service for the whole Colony » It also acts on an advisory capacity within the Radiation Board on radiation hazards and protection. During 1973, the film-badge service covered 46 government institutions with 388 radiation workers, 127 private practitioners' X-ray laboratories with 392, and 15 industrial firms with 75. One hundred and seventy-eight visits were made to non-government premises to inspect the work- ing conditions of radiation workers. Special attention was paid to gas mantle factories where radioactive thorium nitrate forms an integral part of the production process. These duties were in addition to the radiation physics division's main function of assisting the radiotherapeutic and radiodiagnostic divisions in their routine vork and the training of staff.
163.
The radiobiology division is responsible for investigating radiobiological problems to help the radiotherapy division in its work. It also assists in the training of radiotherapists.
164.
The Institute also undertakes the training of medical undergraduates of the Hong Kong University in clinical radiology, including the medical use of radioisotopes, and radiological anatomy.
165.
In the field of research, the radiotherapy and radiobiology divisions are continuing their own as well as the collaborative research with the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon and other overseas centres in the study of the epidemiology of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, the commodest cancer among Hong Kong men.
166.
OPHTHALMOLOGY
This service maintains three full-time centres with surgical facilities, and in addition, holds regular sessions at 15 out-patient clinics in urban and rural areas. Ophthalmic surgery is performed in two government hospitals with a total of 36 beds for ophthalmic cases as well as in out- patient clinics. Emergency ophthalmic services are also available at the three casualty departments in the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and Kwong Wah hospitals.
167.
During the year, the number of persons first registered as blind was 904 compared with 224 in the previous year. This marked increase was due
to the large mumber coming Forward for registration after the introduction of the Disability Allowance Scheme since April 1973. Trends of previous years in the causation of blindness continued, with increasing frequency of the eye diseases of advancing age, and a reduction in those caused by deficiency states and trauma. Senile cataract and glaucoma replaced keratomalacia as the predominant causes. Among children, the main cause of blindness was congenital defect, while blindness due to keratomalacia was comparatively rare.
168.
EAR, NOSE AND THROAT SERVICE
Table
A new post of consultant surgeon was created in October. 66 shows statistics collected by clinics run by the ear, nose and throat service at various centres, and also hospital cases taken care of by the two consultant surgeons and their staff. Under the consultant surgeons are also an audiometric unit and a speech therapy unit. The former handles diagnostic hearing tests on patients referred by qualified E.N.T. surgeons in Hong Kong, and the latter treats all patients referred by registered doctors, with defects and disorders of voice, articulation, fluency, and so on, except cases of severe deafness in children. The latter are taken care of by the bearing and speech centre of the Education Department.
169.
PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICE
This sub-department meets the requirements for drugs, dressings, surgical instruments and hospital sundries of all Government hospital, clinics and health centres, including Government-assisted medical institutions. Headed by the Chief Pharmacist, it has a staff of 24 pharmacists and 207 dispensers of all grades. The renovation of the Central Medical Store in North Point has been completed but is still not yet fully equipped for operation. Therefore the major manufacture of pharmaceutical products, except for tabletting, is still carried out solely at the Kowloon Medical Store.
170.
The other responsibility of the Chief Pharmacist, apart from administration of the sub-department is the enforcement of the law pertaining to dangerous drugs, poisons and antibiotics. During the year 66 prosecutions vere instituted and all were convicted. In order to exercise tighter control
on the manufacture and importation of drugs, a Licensing Section is being planned to scrutinise every medical preparation manufactured in Hong Kong or imported into Hong Kong. Examinations for the registration of pharmacists were held as usual in June and December, and a total of 25 candidates sat, but only 5 passed.
MEDICAL SOCIAL WORK
171.
The expansion of the medical and health services, and the increasing emphasis on rehabilitation in its various aspects, continued to make heavy demands on the services of medical social workers who have been enjoying good team-work with the other professional members of the medical and health team, The trend of moving from basic material and financial assistance to the giving of more and more attention to the problems, or factors, that have led to the need for assistance, has called for more sophisticated social work knowledge, discipline and skill, so as to help the handicapped and the chronically-ill to re-integrate into society with a role and a task which can give them dignity and social status. The allocation of about 100 beds at the
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