ENG-1981 — Page 139

HEALTH

95

The government-subvented Family Planning Association of Hong Kong runs 41 clinics providing vasectomy, female sterilisation and sub-fertility services and a marital consul- tation service for young couples. In 1981, more than 42 000 new clients visited the association's facilities. The Family Health Service of the Medical and Health Department also conducts educational programmes for school and community agencies, runs training programmes for midwives, teachers and social workers; organises information and publicity campaigns; and carries out clinical trials and surveys.

School Health

The School Medical Service is operated by an independent School Medical Service Board. Participation is voluntary and, for a token fee of $5 a year, a participant can receive free medical attention from a general practitioner of the school's choice. The government contributes $50 a year for each pupil enrolled and also bears the administrative cost of operating the scheme.

=

The School Health Service - a government responsibility - deals with the environmental health and sanitation of school premises and the control of communicable diseases. School health officers; health visitors and health inspectors make frequent inspections of schools, and advise on matters concerning the health of the children, and organise immunisation campaigns.

Mental Health

The Mental Health Service is geared towards a multi-disciplinary approach comprising medical, paramedical and other professional staff including psychiatric doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists and medical social workers.

The new psychiatric hospital in Kwai Chung is intended to relieve pressure on Castle Peak Hospital. It also provides a variety of new and sophisticated specialist facilities unique to Hong Kong.

The Psychiatric Unit at Kowloon Hospital, United Christian Hospital and the University Psychiatric Unit at Queen Mary Hospital also provide comprehensive psychiatric services. In line with the universal trend in hospital development, psychiatric units will be incor- porated with other specialised treatment units in general hospitals.

Supplementing the hospital facilities are five major day centres the Hong Kong Psychiatric Centre, the Psychiatric Unit at Kowloon Hospital, the Yau Ma Tei Psychiatric Centre, the Chai Wan Psychiatric Centre and the South Kwai Chung Psychiatric Centre. They provide a wide range of out-patient treatment, assessments, analytical, occupational social and recreational therapy services for mental patients.

Severely mentally-handicapped patients are cared for at the Siu Lam Hospital and the Caritas Medical Centre which have 300 places for such patients. The government plans to expand facilities for the mentally ill by providing another 1 700 psychiatric hospital beds by the end of the decade. Six psychiatric out-patient clinics and 300 day centre places will also be made available during the next seven years.

Dental Service

The School Dental Care Service, based at the MacLehose Dental Centre, which was intro- duced in September 1980, continues to provide regular dental health care to those children who join the scheme and to promote dental hygiene amongst the school population. The centre incorporates a training school for dental therapists and a school dental clinic. Six more school dental clinics are being planned on a regional basis.