ENG-1990 — Page 204

HEALTH

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The Prince Philip Dental Hospital produced 58 dentists in 1990. The training of dental therapists is provided at the Tang Shiu Kin Dental Therapists Training School.

The basic training for general nurses is conducted at government, government-assisted and private hospitals. There are now nine schools for training students to be registered nurses and 11 for training pupils to be enrolled nurses with an average annual intake capacity of about 1 180 and 580 respectively. An additional student nurse training school and one more pupil nurse training school are planned over the next decade. The annual intake capacity is to be increased from 1 180 to 1 410 for general student nurses and from 580 to 670 for general pupil nurses.

The training of psychiatric student nurses is conducted at Kwai Chung Hospital and Castle Peak Hospital and training of psychiatric pupil nurses at Castle Peak Hospital. The average intake capacity for psychiatric student nurses is 170 and for pupil nurses is 80. Three more training schools for psychiatric nurses have been planned for the next decade to meet the rising demand for nursing care in the Mental Health Service.

The need for continuing training and education for nurses is recognised. The post-basic school for the Nursing Training Unit provides post-registration courses in midwifery, health nursing and community nursing on a regular basis.

The departments of Diagnostic Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences and Health Sciences of the Hong Kong Polytechnic provide training for para-medical and para-dental staff, including radiographers, optometrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, medical laboratory technicians and dental technicians. There are opportunities for overseas training in specialised areas for medical, nursing, para-medical and para-dental staff. The Chai Wan Technical Institute of the Technical Education and Industrial Training Department provides training for dispensers which is complemented by in-service departmental train- ing. There is also in-service training for prosthetists, mould laboratory technicians and therapeutic radiographers in the respective units of the government institutions.

Government Laboratory

The Government Laboratory offers a comprehensive range of analytical and consultative services to government departments and other public institutions to assist them in the implementation of various government programmes.

During the year, a wide range of food samples including fresh produce and cooked, processed and preserved foods was examined mainly for compliance with health standards laid down in the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance. Regular checks were maintained on various food additives such as preservatives, artificial sweeteners, colouring matter and contaminants including heavy metals and pesticide and hormone residues, to ensure the safety of food consumed by the public.

Close monitoring was carried out on the quality of medicinal preparations obtainable over-the-counter and those used in government hospitals and clinics, to protect the public from sub-standard drugs. Samples of Chinese herbal proprietary products were checked for the presence of synthetic drugs and toxic metals.

The laboratory undertook a comprehensive range of environmental testing work to provide data on the quality of the local environment, in order to monitor the effectiveness of existing control measures and to provide a basis for the development of new policies and strategies. With the progress of existing government programmes to control pollution, the