Sessional_Paper_1895 — Page 556

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tioning and allotting such special duties. In cases of great emergency we are unable to recommend any definite course of action, seeing that the proper steps to be taken on such occasions must necessarily depend on the circumstances and conditions and must be decided accordingly. We, however, venture to suggest that in the event of any grave emergency arising liberal inducement be offered to outside medical practitioners (local or otherwise) to place their services at the disposal of the Government, and that such temporary officers should be under the orders of the Principal Medical Officer in the same way as members of the permanent staff.

Question 3.--Whether it is desirable that any member of the staff should be allowed private practice.

Answer. We consider that in no case should private practice be allowed to officers of the medical staff of the Government, and have based our proposals for the re-organisation of the staff on the understanding that this privilege, where it now exists, will be withdrawn, and that the services of the whole staff will be entirely at the disposal of the Government.

We, however, make the above recommendation conditionally upon medical officers of the Government being allowed, as hitherto, to be called in by private practitioners for the purpose of holding consultations, to which we see no objection whatever.

In connection with the question of private practice, it has been brought to our notice that ex-patients of the Government Civil Hospital often visit Hongkong from the Coast ports for the purpose of consulting the medical officers at the Hospital, who are well acquainted with their cases, having treated them during their periods of sickness. In such cases we are given to understand that unless these ex-patients re-enter the Hospital, the doctors are not allowed to tender advice or opinions, and it has been suggested that to this extent and strictly within these limits private practice should be allowed and the doctors authorised to see such patients and charge a fee therefor. We are not, however, prepared to endorse this latter suggestion, it appears to us that there is no objection to these ex-patients consulting, if they so desire, the medical officers of the Hospital or to a fee being charged for medical advice in these cases, but seeing that the medical service is provided by the Government, and that the doctors are consulted in such cases quâ officers of the Government Civil Hospital and not quâ private prac- titioners, we think that all fees so chargeable should be credited to the Government and not to its individual officers.

Question 4.-To what extent the Chinese community avail themselves of the Civil Hospital, and what steps, if any, can be taken to make it more popular with the Chinese ?

Answer. From the evidence taken on this subject we are of opinion that, having regard to the accommodation provided, the strength of the medical and nursing staff &c., the advantages of the Hospital are fully availed of by the Chinese, and that the number of beds is at times hardly equal to the number of patients applying to be admit- ted. As regards the out-patients we learn that there are more applicants than, under the existing arrangements, can possibly be attended to, and that they have constantly to be sent away in consequence. It is anticipated that if the re-arrangement of the staff, which we have proposed above, is approved, the work of this branch of the Hospital will be more efficiently performed than at present, and will increase accord- ingly.

Question 5.-To what extent non-Government Hospitals have been visited and inspected in the past, and what improved arrangements, if any, should be made for the frequent and regular inspection of such institutions in the future?

Answer. We find that the only non-Government Hospital hitherto regularly inspected is the Tung Wa Hospital. We are of opinion that that institution should in