ENG-1991 — Page 187

HEALTH

Since 1987, the programme has been extended to all primary school children. In 1991, 404 570 participated, representing 75 per cent of the primary school population.

An Oral Health Education Unit has been established by the Department of Health to organise oral health education activities for the community.

The Government Dental Service provides emergency treatment for the public at a number of district dental clinics. Dental treatment is also provided for inmates of penal institutions and patients in public hospitals.

Services for the Mentally Ill and Mentally Handicapped

Medical Services for the mentally ill include treatment in hospitals, out-patient clinics and day hospitals. The Mental Health Service, in conjunction with local academic and non-government bodies, provides a comprehensive psychiatric service for the territory as a whole. Great emphasis is placed on continuity of care and integrating rehabilitation with medical treatment.

At the end of 1991, 3 484 beds were provided in psychiatric hospitals, and 680 beds in psychiatric units of general hospitals. In line with the universal trend for the latter type of provision, 1 740 additional beds are being planned for the mentally ill in various hospitals.

Psychiatric patients are treated, as far as possible, in the community. The Community Work and Aftercare Units of the psychiatric hospitals provide multi-disciplinary assistance to patients discharged from these hospitals. Domiciliary occupational therapy and com- munity-psychiatric nursing services in particular aim to provide treatment programmes and continuity of care for discharged mental patients in their home setting, thereby assisting them in social readjustment and educating patients as well as their families in mental health. There are now seven Community Psychiatric Nursing Centres and four more are planned. The various other complementary rehabilitative services include day centres, halfway houses, long-stay care homes, vocational training, selective placement and social clubs offered by various government departments and non-government organisations.

Severely mentally handicapped persons requiring intensive nursing care and rehabili- tation services are cared for in Tuen Mun Hospital with 200 beds and Caritas Medical Centre with 300 beds. In order to meet the great demand in this area, a further 400 beds are planned in this category.

Special Services

The Pathology Service provides both clinical and public health laboratory services for government clinics and public hospitals, and a consultancy service for the subvented sector. It also administers hospital mortuaries and blood banks.

The Forensic Pathology Service with its fully-established forensic laboratory works closely with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force on the medical aspects of criminology and other medico-legal work. It also performs investigations in all homicides and coroners' cases. The public mortuaries are under the administration of the service.

The Virus Unit is the central laboratory for the diagnosis and surveillance of viral infections including AIDS. It provides laboratory support for the screening, assessment and guidance of vaccination programmes against viral diseases. Moreover, its Institute of Immunology undertakes the monitoring and quality control of biological products, including vaccines for use in the local health services.

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