ENG-1972 — Page 121

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HEALTH

There are 31 government dental clinics, including one mobile unit which supplements static clinic facilities and one clinic that has recently been completed.

Fluoridation of Hong Kong's urban water supply began in 1961 and most of the population now receive water which has been treated (under strict control) with sodium fluoride or sodium silico-fluoride. It appears from clinical observation that this mea- sure has already brought about a reduction in the prevalence of dental caries, particu- larly among children, and that this benefit will become more marked in the future.

Many voluntary bodies and welfare organisations, particularly the Hong Kong Dental Society and the St John Ambulance Brigade, maintain free or low-cost dental clinics and many dentists give their services free of charge. The Church World Service, the Lutheran World Service and Caritas operate fully-equipped static and mobile dental clinics.

Ophthalmic Service

Based on three full-time outpatient centres, equipped with operating, investigation and treatment rooms, this service operates on a sessional basis in the urban areas and in the outlying districts of the New Territories. Ophthalmic surgeries are performed in the eye clinics as well as in two government hospitals, in which 36 beds are reserved for ophthalmic cases. The staff of the Ophthalmic Service also deals with ophthalmic emergencies at three casualty departments situated at the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth and Kwong Wah Hospitals.

Training

The degrees of MB, BS, conferred by the University of Hong Kong, have been recognised for registration by the General Medical Council of Great Britain since 1911. During recent years the Medical Faculty has expanded to meet Hong Kong's increasing need for doctors. Post-graduate clinical training is available, and the government maintains a programme for the training of its doctors for post-graduate qualifications. Suitable candidates, when selected, are given training under the super- vision of the clinical specialists for a period of about four years. A local officer who has completed four years continuous resident service and has been confirmed to the pensionable establishment, may be granted paid study leave to attend a course outside Hong Kong. Through this arrangement many government doctors in the past years have been given paid leave to attend courses of study overseas.

Hong Kong has no local facilities for training in dentistry, but a government dental scholarship scheme enables a number of students from Hong Kong to go over- seas each year to study dentistry. A total of 89 scholarships have been awarded since the scheme commenced in 1954.

There are three government hospital schools of nursing where instruction is given in the medium of the English language; two of these provide a three-year course in general nursing and are attached to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Queen Mary Hospital respectively, while the one in Castle Peak Hospital provides a three- year course in psychiatric nursing.