ENG-1981 — Page 138

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HEALTH

Queen Mary Hospital, with 1 200 beds, is the regional hospital for Hong Kong Island. It is also the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the largest general hospital in Kowloon, with 1938 beds, is the regional hospital for east Kowloon and the eastern New Territories.

Kwong Wah Hospital, a government-assisted hospital with 1 581 beds, is the regional hospital for west Kowloon.

Princess Margaret Hospital with 1 268 beds serves as a regional hospital for the western New Territories and it also has an infectious diseases unit and a geriatric unit.

As a result of the regionalisation scheme, the bed occupancy rates of government-assisted hospitals such as Pok Oi, Buddhist, Tung Wah and Yan Chai, have been raised to more than 80 per cent.

In 1981, more than 52 400 patients were treated in the 13 government and 20 government- assisted hospitals.

Clinics

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Out-patient services provided by the government, subsidised organisations and private agencies have been considerably expanded. The government operates 55 general out- patient clinics, polyclinics and specialist clinics. Evening, Sunday and public holiday sessions are held at clinics in the more densely-populated areas as part of an overall measure to meet the demand for out-patient services.

Mobile dispensaries and floating clinics take medical services to the outlying islands and the more remote areas of the New Territories. Other inaccessible areas are visited regularly by the 'flying doctor' service with assistance from the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force.

At the end of 1981, 376 clinics were registered under the Medical Clinics Ordinance. Of these, 85 clinics were under the control of a registered medical practitioner, as required under the ordinance, and 291 clinics were exempted from this requirement. Registered medical practitioners set up clinics in housing estates through the Estate Doctor Association Limited.

The total attendance figure at government out-patient clinics came to 13 million in 1981, 0.2 per cent more than the previous year.

Family Health

The Family Health Service operates 39 centres, each of which provides a comprehensive health care programme for women of child-bearing age and children up to five years. Family planning is an important component of the Family Health Service. Ante-natal and post-natal health consultation sessions are conducted for mothers. Immunisation programmes are carried out against diseases to which children are particularly vulnerable. During the year, about 90 per cent of new-borns attended the family health centres.

The comprehensive observation scheme introduced in 1978 to detect and assess early developmental abnormalities, and where necessary to provide follow-up treatment, is now available at 37 family health centres. Children attending these centres may, if their conditions warrant it, be referred to child assessment centres for further examina- tion by various specialists in this field, including paediatricians, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, speech therapists, audiology technicians, and medical social workers. The system enables rehabilitation processes to start as early as possible. An expansion programme to set up six more child assessment centres on a regional basis is in progress.