ENG-1968 — Page 154

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HEALTH

The cornerstone of treatment in Hong Kong is ambulatory chemotherapy on an outpatient basis. The position with regard to the treatment of tuberculosis in the last 15 years has changed com- pletely and the disease can now nearly always be cured provided that the patient is co-operative and takes his treatment regularly. The drawback however is that the course of treatment is long, usually one-and-a-half to two years. In this connection there is a strong team of health visitors guiding and directing Health Auxi- liaries so that, if default from treatment does occur, immediate action in the way of home visiting can be taken.

All diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis is free and medical social workers connected with this work maintain social histories, operate a tuberculosis assistance fund for those in need of financial or material aid while under treatment, and help with certain aspects of rehabilitation and resettlement.

In the past, due to the large number of cases of tuberculosis attending chest clinics voluntarily, case finding was considered to be pointless, making an already difficult treatment situation more difficult. This position has now changed, due on the one hand to the fact that the tuberculosis problem is slowly but steadily_being overcome and, on the other, to the improved outpatient facilities being offered by Government.

The Colony has 1,737 beds available specifically for the treatment of tuberculosis and 6,163 patients were admitted to them during the year. The Government provides 146 of these beds in Kowloon Hospital and St John Hospital on Cheung Chau Island, but the ma- jority are in government-assisted hospitals, notably those managed by the Hong Kong Anti-Tuberculosis and Thoracic Diseases Asso- ciation. This association offers a total of 979 beds distributed between Grantham Hospital, Ruttonjee Sanatorium and Freni Memorial Home. The Grantham Hospital has 619 beds of which 576 are maintained by the Government on a daily fee-paying basis, while the Ruttonjee Sanatorium and Freni Memorial Home between them have 360 beds. These hospitals also offer approved training courses leading to the British Tuberculosis Association's certificate in nursing. The Junk Bay Medical Relief Council has 261 beds at its Haven of Hope Sanatorium. In addition, this organization has facilities for the rehabilitation of patients and for the observation of child contacts with positive tuberculosis reactions. The Tung Wah