ENG-1962 — Page 193

HEALTH

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committee on health education, formed in 1959, continued to con- centrate its efforts on assisting the anti-diphtheria campaign men- tioned previously and on other subjects of public health importance. The health education select committee of the Urban Council organized publicity campaigns on many aspects of environmental hygiene throughout the urban areas, while the industrial health section of the Labour Department and the Social Welfare Depart- ment were also very active in their respective spheres. Kaifong associations co-operated with Government in immunization cam- paigns and in education on environmental hygiene. Many of these associations run their own health committees and take a lively and practical interest in the health problems of their respective districts.

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HOSPITALS

A total of 10,017 hospital beds (see Appendix VII) are available in Hong Kong for all purposes. This figure includes maternity and nursing homes but not institutions maintained by the Armed Forces. Of these beds, 3,680 are in Government hospitals and institutions and 4,473 in Government assisted hospitals, while the remaining 1,864 are provided by private agencies. Apart from beds assigned to the care of the mentally ill and the treatment of tuberculosis and infectious diseases, there are 6,229 beds available for all general purposes, including maternity. This gives a ratio of 1.8 beds per thousand of the population. The figures quoted are based on the normal bed-capacities of the various hospitals, but in many cases the actual occupancy is much higher as camp beds are used extensively whenever the need arises.

Government maintains two large general hospitals for casualties and emergency cases and for cases in need of specialized investiga- tion and treatment. These are the Queen Mary Hospital of 623 beds, on Hong Kong Island, and the Kowloon Hospital of 574 beds, situated in the centre of Kowloon. The former is also the teaching hospital for the medical faculty of the University of Hong Kong. Both hospitals are training schools for nurses. Other Govern- ment hospitals are maintained chiefly for specialized purposes. These include a mental hospital of 1,000 beds, two infectious disease hospitals (one of which also accommodates convalescent cases from Kowloon Hospital), a maternity hospital of 200 beds where the training of midwives and the teaching of medical