ENG-1959 — Page 174

PUBLIC HEALTH

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which 12 are the responsibility of the Medical and Health Depart- ment, and 19 are maintained by voluntary agencies, medical missions and private bodies. Ten of these receive substantial assist- ance from Government in respect of the free or low-cost services which they offer.

Government hospitals accommodate a total of 2,212 beds, the Government assisted hospitals 3,664 beds, and private hospitals 1,093 beds. In addition, various Government clinics and maternity homes provide a further 148 beds, mainly in the New Territories and practically all for maternity cases. There are 585 beds in private maternity and nursing homes. There is therefore a total of 7,702 beds for all purposes, including the mentally ill and those suffering from infectious diseases. Excluding the 1,846 beds set aside for tuberculosis, the 260 beds for the mentally ill, and the 540 beds for the treatment of leprosy, there are 5,056 beds avail- able for all general purposes, including maternity. The mid-year estimated population for 1959 was 2,857,000 and this gives a ratio of 1.77 beds per thousand of the population. The figures quoted for beds are for the normal bed-capacity of the various hospitals but, in many cases, the actual bed-occupancy is much higher as extra camp beds are used extensively wherever the need arises and space can be found.

The 12 Government hospitals comprise two large general hospi- tals, two mental hospitals, two maternity hospitals, one large hospital for both long-term cases and infectious diseases, one infectious diseases hospital, two prison hospitals, one small hospital for the treatment of venereal diseases, and the St. John Hospital with general, maternity and tuberculosis beds on Cheung Chau Island. At Appendix XV is a table detailing the distribution of hospital beds in the Colony.

The two largest hospitals handling acute cases and those in need of specialized treatment are the Queen Mary Hospital of 601 beds on Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Hospital of 339 beds, situated in the centre of Kowloon. Both are Government hospitals and the Queen Mary Hospital is the Teaching Hospital for the Medical Faculty of the University of Hong Kong. The Tsan Yuk Government Maternity Hospital of 200 beds, also on the Island, is the specialist obstetric unit which is also a Teaching Hospital for the University.