X1000307-1949-50_Part01 — Page 24

(b) Kowloon Hospital.

170. This hospital is the emergency hospital for the main- land and contains 131 beds but owing to the pressure of work additional beds were put up bringing the total to 179, 80 beda at Lai Chi Kok hospital were also placed at the disposal of Kowloon Hospital.

171. During 1949 6,427 in-patients were treated as com- pared with 5,025 in 1948. There were 382 deaths of which 173 occurred within 24 hours of admission. 1,315 births took place in the maternity block as compared with 1,352 in 1948. This decrease was due to the fact that in part of July and August the ground floor of the maternity block was closed as a result of an outbreak of neo-natal enteritis.

172. 1,963 operations were performed as compared with 1,761 in 1948.

173. The work in the outpatient department increased so rapidly that it proved at times impossible for the staff to com- pete with the numbers. 94,009 new cases were treated as compared with 68,522 in 1948 and the total attendance during the year amounted to 150,830.

174. In April it become impossible to see all patients attending in the out-patient department and some were turned away. This immediately led to the formation of queues, which, in the course of a week or so began to form the night before and numbers of patients or substitutes waited all night, often in the rain, for the very brief consultation with the doctor the next day. In September four extra doctors were employed to help to deal with the crowds and by re-arranging duties addi- tional doctors were made available from the hospital staff in the afternoons. As a result all patients were seen and the queue disappeared, but by the end of the period under review a further influx of people had again increased the attendances beyond the facilities available and once again queueing all night had started. Plans had been made to deal with this possibility and are being put into operation.

175. An interesting indication of the magnitude of the problem being faced by the Kowloon Hospital staff is shown by two facts: first, that as many prescriptions were made up in the first quarter of 1950 as in the whole of 1949, which was in fact a record year, and secondly that the daily attendance în March, 1960, if all patients had seen a doctor, would have enabled the 10 doctors working 7 hours a day to allot 24 minutes to each patient.

(c) Mental Hospital.

176. This hospital was built many years ago in sur- roundings which now are quite unsuitable as it has become a closely built-up area. The garden accommodation for patients consists in what is little more than two large yards.

177. The hospital has accommodation for 123 patients. The daily normal average number for the year being 118.9 as compared with 95 last year. This means, of course, that there were many occasions when the hospital was grossly over- crowded. A total of 685 patients were treated as compared with 482 in 1948 and of these 461 were discharged home, 47 were transferred to Canton in the early part of the year, 27 were discharged to other hospitals, 20 died and 130 remained in at the end of the year.

178. Although the surroundings of the hospital are un- aightly modern methods of treatment were available such as electro-convulsive therapy, insulin shock therapy, modified insulin treatment, continuous narcosis and simple forms of occupational therapy. 10 prefrontal leucotomies were per- formed on chronic cases, 4 of which improved, three sufficiently well to be discharged, 3 died, two as a result of the operation, and three have showed no improvement,

179. In the first quarter of 1950 there was a rapid increase in the demands for admission to the hospital due to the fact that mental cases were being brought in from China where their relatives felt they might not be safe and at the end of March there were 154 patients. This threw a great strain on the resources of the hospital and seriously hampered effective treat- ment.

(d) Sai Ying Pun Hospital.

180. This hospital of 88 beds, capable of being increased to 150 in an emergency, is the infectious diseases hospital on the island. A total of 870 cases were treated as compared with 557 in 1948. Of this 162 died as compared with 88 in the previous year. Under the same administration, but not associated with the infectious diseases hospital, is the Sai Ying Pun out-patient department. 164,676 patients were treated as compared with 158,105 in 1948.

(e) Lai Chi Kok Hospital.

181. This hospital continued to operate in two sections, the lower section, consisting of 290 beds, being used as an infectious diseases hospital of 88 beds and a pulmonary tuberculosis hospital