HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I do appreciate that the staff are over-worked. But it is unfortunate that no one in the Department can give the assurance how long it would be before the time would come when the Health Staff could be said to be adequate. You will be interested to know, Mr. Chairman, that the first Campaign in Health Education will take place in April, nine months after the Health Education Select Committee was formed. I fail completely to understand why the Health Education Campaign which is the pet subject of the Urban Services Department should require such a long period to organize. I am sure Members would agree that the Department cannot afford to allow its work to be delayed because of shortage of staff without attempting to find a solution. In this connexion, Mr. Chairman, I would propose two alternatives. We must either ensure that the number of successful Probationer Health Inspectors is sufficient to meet the demand, or release some Inspectors from less important duties.
The first alternative would solve the problem in the long run and can be achieved in two ways. First, in view of the high percentage of failures in the examinations, there should be more training classes, and if facilities are limited in this Department, assistance should be sought from other departments, such as the Medical Department, to enable more probationers to complete their training. Secondly, to raise the percentage of passes in the examinations, we should draw up a proper system for selecting candidates for training, so that only the promising candidates are accepted as trainees. I understand that quite a number of people in the Colony are interested in working as Health Inspectors. They should be encouraged to apply for Probationers' posts and we can then make our careful choice from a large number of applicants. This would provide sufficient staff every year and in turn means saving the cost of training in this Department.
The second alternative in releasing Inspectors from unimportant duties is only a temporary solution. I think we could replace the Inspectors in Scavenging and Land and Sea Transport by overseers. Is it absolutely necessary, Mr. Chairman, that these two sections should be in charge of qualified personnel? By releasing these posts, eleven extra Inspectors could be assigned to other duties. And first and foremost, I would suggest that more staff should be sent to the Resettlement Department which expands every year, for the allocation of only three Health Inspectors to this Department is certainly highly inadequate. The Department must also take note that all licensed premises need supervision after office hours, and that a panel of staff for evening duties is desirable and should be provided.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN:-If no other member wishes to speak I will take this opportunity of answering so far as I can the comparatively small number of points which have been raised today.
First and foremost I cannot let pass the reference to Parkinson's well-known law. I think perhaps my friend Dr. Lee has used the term somewhat loosely. Members will be well aware that Parkinson's law deals with the expansion and proliferation of senior and administrative staff which, if left unchecked, will proceed without relation to the amount of work to be done. A recent example quoted in the Economist refers to the rumour that G.H.Q. Far East Land Forces contains 56 Brigadiers. Our position is precisely the reverse, if I may say so.
The city develops, our work increases, our labour force perforce is increased. Since I first sat in this chair the total staff has increased by well over two thousand posts. Parkinson is concerned with administrative and senior posts. I need not remind members of the increases that have taken place in that category during the same period. I think I am correct in saying that, taking the posts of Chief Health Inspector and above, the total increases in those brackets which we have seen is one Cadet Officer Class 2.
I pass now to the remarks made both by Dr. Lee and Dr. Woo on the subject of Health Inspectors. There are two related problems, first the number that we need and second the best method by which we can reach that strength with the least possible delay. Dr. Lee referred, or expressed the hope that, in the foreseeable future we might have a District Inspectorate of such a strength that each tenement floor might be subject to house inspection once each month. He was good enough to give me notice of this point and according to our calculation that would mean increasing the Inspectorate to a larger strength than has so far been envisaged. There are approximately 120,000 tenement floors in the Colony and to take our present target of one Inspector for each 1,200 floors, the strength required would be 100. This relates of course to district duties only and not to other extraneous duties. Our calculations indicate that if the
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I do appreciate that the staff are over-worked. But it is unfortunate that no one in the Department can give the assurance how long it would be before the time would come when the Health Staff could be said to be adequate. You will be interested to know, Mr. Chairman, that the first Campaign in Health Education will take place in April, nine months after the Health Education Select Committee was formed. I fail completely to understand why the Health Education Campaign which is the pet subject of the Urban Services Department should require such a long period to organize. I am sure Members would agree that the Department cannot afford to allow its work to be delayed because of shortage of staff without attempting to find a solution. In this connexion, Mr. Chairman, I would propose two alter- natives. We must either ensure that the number of successful Probationer Health Inspectors is sufficient to meet the demand, or release some Inspectors from less important duties.
The first alternative would solve the problem in the long run and can be achieved in two ways. First, in view of the high percentage of failures in the examinations, there should be more training classes, and if facilities are limited in this Department, assistance should be sought from other departments, such as the Medical Department, to enable more probationers to complete their training. Secondly, to raise the percentage of passes in the examinations, we should draw up a proper system for select- ing candidates for training, so that only the promising candidates are accepted as trainees. I understand that quite a number of people in the Colony are interested in working as Health Inspectors. They should be encouraged to apply for Proba- tioners' posts and we can then make our careful choice from a large number of applicants. This would provide sufficient staff every year and in turn means saving the cost of training in this Department.
The second alternative in releasing Inspectors from un- important duties is only a temporary solution. I think we could replace the Inspectors in Scavenging and Land and Sea Trans- port by overseers. Is it absolutely necessary Mr. Chairman that these two sections should be in charge of qualified personnel? By releasing these posts, eleven extra Inspectors could be assign- ed to other duties. And first and foremost, I would suggest that more staff should be sent to the Resettlement Department which expands every year, for the allocation of only three Health
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
169
Inspectors to this Department is certainly highly inadequate. The Department must also take note that all licensed premises need supervision after office hours, and that a panel of staff for evening duties is desirable and should be provided.
CHAIRMAN :-If no other member wishes to speak I will take this opportunity of answering so far as I can the comparatively small number of points which have been raised today.
First and foremost I cannot let pass the reference to Parkin- son's well-known law. I think perhaps my friend Dr. Lee has used the term somewhat loosely. Members will be well aware that Parkinson's law deals with the expansion and proliferation of senior and administrative staff which, if left unchecked, will proceed without relation to the amount of work to be done. A recent example quoted in the Economist refers to the rumour that G.H.Q. Far East Land Forces contains 56 Brigadiers. Our position is precisely the reverse, if I may say so.
The city develops, our work increases, our labour force perforce is increased. Since I first sat in this chair the total staff has increased by well over two thousand posts. Parkinson is con- cerned with administrative and senior posts. I need not remind members of the increases that have taken place in that category during the same period. I think I am correct in saying that, taking the posts of Chief Health Inspector and above, the total increases in those brackets which we have seen is one Cadet Officer Class 2.
I pass now to the remarks made both by Dr. Lee and Dr. Woo on the subject of Health Inspectors. There are two related problems, first the number that we need and second the best method by which we can reach that strength with the least possible delay. Dr. Lee referred, or expressed the hope that, in the fore- seeable future we might have a District Inspectorate of such a strength that each tenement floor might be subject to house inspection once each month. He was good enough to give me notice of this point and according to our calculation that would mean increasing the Inspectorate to a larger strength than has so far been envisaged. There are approximately 120,000 tene- ment floors in the Colony and to take our present target of one Inspector for each 1,200 floors, the strength required would be 100. This relates of course to district duties only and not to other extraneous duties. Our calculations indicate that if the
Page 92 of 11
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