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persons but also the neighbouring islands which are visited periodically by launch from Cheung Chau. In the Hospital there are sixty general, maternity and children's beds and forty two beds for the accommodation of convalescent cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. There are as yet no facilities for major surgery on the Island and patients requiring such treatment are removed to the Queen Mary Hospital. There were 1,816 admissions during the year with fifty seven deaths. In the maternity section there were 435 deliveries. The total attendances at the Out- patient Department of the Hospital amounted to 63,093.

Prisons Hospitals

343. At the Stanley male prison there is a hospital of eighty two beds for the treatment of certain categories of illness. Patients requiring major surgery or investigation and medical treatment of any specialized nature are transferred temporarily to the custodial wards at the Queen Mary and Kowloon Hospitals. The majority of patients in the Stanley Prison Hospital are under treatment for tuberculosis or for the effects of drug addiction.

344. The treatment of drug addiction among convicted prisoners forms a major part of the work of the Prison Medical Officers and medical treatment is given in the prisons hospital wards during the period of withdrawal. Thereafter rehabilitation is effected through routine occupation in the prisons workshops. Government has under considera- tion a specialized prison for the treatment of convicted drug addicts at which there will be facilities for a full programme of rehabilitation.

345. At the Remand Prison in Victoria there is a small ward of eight beds for the treatment of acute illness. The duration of stay in the Remand Prison is necessarily short but there are a number of cases of acute illness, particularly amongst drug addicts, which have to be treated in this ward.

346. The female prison at Lai Chi Kok maintains a small hospital of ten beds under the supervision of the Medical Officer in charge of the Lai Chi Kok Hospital. Here again any case of major illness is transferred to the custodial ward in the Kowloon Hospital.

Wan Chai Social Hygiene Hospital

347. Reference has already been made to the work of this small 30-bed Hospital for the reception of women and children. Its main function is the in-patient treatment of venereal disease in women and children although, with modern treatment, this aspect of the work is

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becoming less important. On the other hand, cases of acute skin disease are now admitted to this Hospital and it is tending to become more and more a centre for the treatment of acute dermatological cases.

348. There is a busy out-patient department for the treatment of women with venereal disease and a large number of examinations of known contacts are carried out every year.

GOVERNMENT ASSISTED HOSPITALS

Tung Wah Group of Hospitals

349. There are three major hospitals maintained by the Board of Directors of the Tung Wah Hospitals. The Tung Wah Hospital of 373 beds and the Tung Wah Eastern Hospital of 320 beds are situated on Hong Kong Island; the Kwong Wah Hospital of 404 beds is in Kowloon. 350. Established in 1870 the Tung Wah is a charitable organization which provides education and medical services to the poor. The Board of Directors, clccted annually, raises large sums of money for charity, a considerable part of which is devoted to the maintenance of its Hospitals. The scope of the hospital service is such that Government makes a large annual subvention towards this work which is under the general direction of the Tung Wah Hospitals Medical Committee. This Committee is under the Chairmanship of the Director of Medical and Health Services and consists of the Chairman and Principal Directors of the Tung Wah. two members of the Tung Wah Hospitals Advisory Broad, the Medical Superintendents of the three Hospitals and the Deputy Financial Secretary (Finance). These Medical Superintendents are seconded Government Medical Officers.

351. All three hospitals maintain large and very busy out-patient departments but they do not accept casualties, which go to the Casualty Departments of the Queen Mary and Kowloon Hospitals.

352. The general medical and surgical wards of the Tung Wah Hospitals provide much needed accommodation for those suffering from chronic ailments requiring prolonged hospital treatment. There are in addition two Infirmaries, one of 125 and one of cighly six beds, for those suffering from incurable discases.

353. The maternity service provided by the three hospitals is the busiest in the Colony and during 1957 there were 29,331 births in the hospitals. This is approximately one-third of the total births registered.

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