ENG-1994 — Page 214

HEALTH

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disease in, Hong Kong. Health advice on the prevention of plague was given to travellers embarking for India.

Dental Services

The department's Dental Service aims to improve the oral health of the population. Oral health promotion activities are organised throughout the year to raise the awareness of oral care. The entire community has benefited from fluoridated water supply, resulting in a reduced rate of dental decay.

Special efforts are made to ensure that Hong Kong has a dentally-healthy generation of children. All the 350 000 pre-school children are covered in an oral health education programme delivered through maternal and child health centres, kindergartens and pre- school centres. This programme aims to build up desirable oral care habits. A further 380 000 primary school children (or 83 per cent), receive annual dental check-ups and basic dental care through the School Dental Care Service. The Pilot Youth Dental Care programme, originally begun in Tuen Mun, was extended to Shatin in 1994. The programme provides continuity of care for students leaving the School Dental Care Service. Over 3 000 secondary school students enrolled.

The government Dental Service also provides special dental care to hospital patients, disadvantaged groups such as physically and mentally handicapped persons, persons with serious and disabling oral diseases and individuals with specific medical diseases. An "emergency dental service is provided for the public at a number of district dental clinics.

Services for the Mentally Ill and Mentally Handicapped Medical services for mentally ill persons include treatment in hospitals, out-patient clinics, day hospitals and outreaching services. The Hospital Authority, in conjunction with various government and non-governmental organisations, provides a comprehensive psychiatric service for the territory. Patients are treated, as far as possible, in the community. Emphasis is placed on continuity of care and integrating rehabilitation with medical treatment.

At the end of 1994, 4 054 beds were provided in psychiatric hospitals, and 1 251 beds in public psychiatric units of general hospitals. An additional 1 316 beds are being planned for psychiatric patients in public hospitals by the year 2000. Psychiatric day hospital places increased by 50 to 575 at the end of 1994.

The community work and aftercare units of the psychiatric hospitals provide multi- disciplinary assistance to discharged patients. The community psychiatric nursing service and domiciliary occupational therapy service, in particular, aim to provide continual care and treatment programmes for discharged mental patients in their home settings, in this way assisting in their social readjustment and educating patients as well as their families on mental health. Four community psychogeriatric teams have been set up to provide designated care and rehabilitation programmes to psychogeriatric patients. There are 12 community psychiatric nursing service centres. Other complementary rehabilitative services include day-centres, half-way houses, long-stay care homes, vocational training, selective placement and social clubs, run by government departments and non-governmental organisations.

Severely mentally handicapped persons requiring intensive nursing care and rehabilita- tion services are cared for at Tuen Mun Hospital (which offers 204 beds), Caritas Medical