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HEALTH
Drug addicts who volunteer for treatment and rehabilitation are treated in a drug-free environment at a rehabilitation centre on Shek Kwu Chau Island, their stay varying from four to six months. This institution is run by the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts, a voluntary organization subsidized by the govern- ment which at present is able to treat up to 250 addicts at a time. The society operates a town office in the Wan Chai area of Hong Kong Island where addicts apply voluntarily for admission to the centre. After passing a medical examination and socio-economic investigation, successful applicants are admitted for treatment and rehabilitation. After they are discharged, the society provides further assistance in their rehabilitation.
HOSPITALS
The 13,366 hospital beds available in Hong Kong represent 3.6 beds per thousand of the population (see Appendix XXXII). This figure includes maternity and nursing homes but not institutions maintained by the armed forces. Of these beds, 11,362 are in government hospitals and institutions and in government-assisted hospitals, while the remaining 2,004 are provided by private agencies. Apart from beds assigned to the mentally ill and the treatment of tuberculosis and infectious disease, there are 9,491 beds available for all general purposes, including maternity; this gives a ratio of 2.56 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.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital serves as the main emergency and specialist hospital for Kowloon and the New Territories and ac- commodates 1,384 beds with all necessary ancillary and specialist services. It also contains the Queen Elizabeth Jockey Club Institute of Radiology, which incorporates the most recent equipment for radiotherapy and is probably the most comprehensive centre in South-East Asia for the treatment of malignant diseases.
The Kowloon Hospital is used mainly as a subsidiary to the Queen Elizabeth for patients requiring convalescent care and re- habilitation. There are 500 beds of which 168, linked with thoracic surgery and pulmonary function units, are allocated to the care
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