ENG-1963 — Page 205

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HEALTH

general and individual aspects of the programme. It is mainly due to this programme that 54 per cent of the specialist appointments in the Medical and Health Department are now held by locally recruited staff and that there is a progressive increase in the number of medical officers who have been able to obtain higher qualifica- tions in various branches of medical science.

Dentistry. Hong Kong has no local facilities for training in dentistry but a Government dental scholarship scheme enables a number of students from the Colony to study dentistry overseas and ultimately to qualify as dental surgeons.

Nurses. There are three Government Hospital Schools of Nursing. Two of these are the general nursing training schools in Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary Hospitals. The third is the psychiatric nursing school in the Castle Peak Hospital. In addition to these two schools, where training is carried out in English, there are approved schools of nursing at the Tung Wah Hospitals, the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital and the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, in all of which the medium of instruction is Cantonese. The examinations are held by the Hong Kong Nursing Board. There is full reciprocity of registration between the Nursing Board in Hong Kong and the General Nursing Council of England and Wales, and each year a number of qualified general nurses go overseas to gain further experience in different aspects of their profession.

Midwives. The great majority of female nurses on completion of their general nursing training take a midwifery course of one year, which qualifies them for entry to the examinations held by the Hong Kong Midwives Board. The course is conducted in English at Government hospitals and in Cantonese at the other approved schools. For student midwives who are not registered nurses a two-year course of training at the Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital, and to a limited extent at the other approved training schools, is accepted by the Midwives Board for entry to the examinations. Training is in Cantonese. Due to the limited scope of domiciliary midwifery, adequate practical training in this aspect cannot be given. Full reciprocity of registration with the Central Midwives Board of England and Wales is therefore not possible in present circumstances.