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HEALTH
diseases; general medicine; general surgery; neuro-surgery; obste- trics and gynaecology; orthopaedic surgery; psychiatry; pathology; radiodiagnosis and radiotherapy. There are also specialist clinics for tuberculosis and social hygiene, the latter including dermato- logy, leprosy, and venereal disease. The malaria bureau, the Government chemist's laboratory, and the forensic pathology laboratory also provide specialist services.
The Government Institute of Pathology maintains clinical pathology and public health laboratory services. Autopsies at the public mortuaries are carried out by forensic pathologists. There are blood banks at the Queen Mary and Kowloon Hospitals and the Hong Kong branch of the British Red Cross Society operates two blood collecting centres for the voluntary donation of blood. The Institute of Pathology carries out laboratory work for the blood banks. The Government Chemist is responsible for the work of an analytical laboratory which undertakes a wide range of investigations concerned with food, water supplies, narcotics, medico-legal work and dutiable commodities. A considerable amount of investigation into the standard of commodities supplied to Government under contract is also performed.
DENTAL SERVICES
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The Government Dental Service operates in two divisions- school and a general dental service. The school dental service carries out examinations and treatment for children who participate in the school health scheme. The primary school population alone numbered nearly 600,000 children and the adequate dental treat- ment of this large number would require more dentists than there are in the Colony as a whole. The accent was therefore placed on dental health education and the training received by dental nurses in this type of work has proved invaluable.
The general dental service undertakes complete dental care for all monthly-paid Government officers and their families and a limited treatment programme for in-patients of Government hos- pitals, prisoners, and inmates of training centres. The division also provides a limited emergency service for the general public at certain clinics. There are 25 Government dental clinics, including one at Tai O on Lantau Island which is visited by a dental team
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