X1000306-1976-77_Part01 — Page 9

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However, there was a slight drop of 4 per cent in total attendances as compared with the figure for the previous year, due possibly to the fee of $1 charged for injections and dressings since November 1975. Trends of the demand for services during the past ten years are shown in Figure 11. Evening out-patient sessions and Sunday and public holiday sessions continued to operate in clinics situated in the more densely populated areas and additional sessions were being planned.

Psychiatry

The concept of treating patients in day- and out- patient centres has proved to be successful. Three day-patient centres supplement the in-patient services at the hospitals.

Ophthalmology

During the year the number of persons first registered as blind was 971 compared with 1,237 in the previous year. There are two main out-patient centres and 14 part-time clinics.

Ear, Nose and Throat

The service is regionalised into the Hong Kong and outlying islands division based at Queen Mary Hospital and the Kowloon and New Territories division based at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. The service runs nine out-patient clinics, including two at the Kwong Wah and Pok Oi Hospitals.

Dental Service

A total of

The dental service operates 31 clinics, 274,949 attendances were recorded, in which the function of 108,841 teeth was restored and 62,093 teeth were extracted. In terms of persons, 56,531 were rendered dentally fit.

District Midwifery

13.5 per cent of births were delivered at government maternity homes and 4.8 per cent in private maternity homes. These figures show a decrease compared with the previous year as more expectant mothers favour to attend hospitals for confinement.

School Medical Service

On 31st March 1977 the number of pupila participating was 106,193 from 756 schools, compared with 94,377 from 718 schools on the same date in the previous year. Medical practitioners taking part in the scheme numbered 208 compared with 204.

Registration of Clinics

There were 78 registerad static clinica, two registered mobile clinics in the charge of registered medical practitioners, and 320 clinics registered with exemption making a total of 400 on 31st March 1977. 55 registered doctors took part in the low cost medical clinic scheme in Group B and 72 in Group A housing estates. In addition, 28 of 320 clinica registered with exemption also operated under the scheme.

Patholog

VII. SPECIAL SERVICES

(Tables 65-71)

During the year the total number of examinations undertaken by the Institute of Pathology exceeded that of the previous year by 382,355 indicating an increase of 14%; this excludes tests done for Queen Mary Hospital which is served by the Department of Pathology of the Hong Kong University.

The brains of 42 dogs were examined for Negri bodies, the evidence of rabies, but no positive findings were obtained.

In the blood banks 50,594 pints of blood were received, 49,828 pints of which were from the collecting centres of the Hong Kong Red Cross.

A faecal survey for poliomyelitis failed to detect any wild poliovirus. This favourable result was in agreement with the serological study which revealed high immunity in children and a decline of the susceptible population.