ENG-1976 — Page 117

7

Health

THE improvement and expansion of medical services took another step forward in 1976 when details were announced of a development programme which in the next eight years will provide more than 5,000 new hospital beds, five clinics, three poly- clinics, a health centre, a second medical school and a dental school.

The first major hospital project to be completed will be the psychiatric wing at Princess Margaret Hospital in Kowloon, where the general block was opened in 1975. The new wing will provide 1,300 beds by 1980. A hospital complex at Sha Tin is to open during 1982-3 with 1,200 beds, a supporting polyclinic and a general clinic. In 1983-4 the Tuen Mun Hospital is due to be completed, providing 1,200 beds and a polyclinic. The first stage of the East Kowloon Hospital-which will eventually have 1,200 beds—is expected to be ready for use in 1983. A further 300 hospital beds will also become available through other projects. Four more general clinics, a poly- clinic and a health centre are to be built in other areas of the New Territories and in East Kowloon.

Hong Kong's second medical school is to be established at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The first intake will be in 1981 and the school will eventually produce 100 doctors a year. The new hospital at Sha Tin will be used as the teaching hospital.

At the University of Hong Kong, which has had a medical school since the univer- sity's foundation in 1911, it is planned to establish a dental school in 1980. The first 60 dentists are expected to graduate in 1984.

Further development of rehabilitation services for the disabled is also planned and a Green Paper outlining recommendations for the next 10 years was published for public comment in October. The paper contains more than 30 recommendations which fall into four main service areas: identification and assessment services, for the early discovery and treatment of disabilities; medical services, for the correction and reduc- tion of disabilities and the restoration of functions; educational services to help prepare the disabled for their future roles in society; and social welfare services to help the disabled to lead a full and meaningful life. Views and comments on these recommendations are being studied and it is envisaged that a White Paper will be published in 1977.

Medical and health services in Hong Kong are the responsibility of the Medical and Health Department. Towards the end of 1976 it announced that a major re- organisation would be carried out in 1977 to make more efficient use of the beds and facilities available. This is to be done by regionalising the services, with the whole of Hong Kong divided into four regions. The objective is to bring about a better appreciation of the medical and health needs of each of the main population centres,