ENG-1998 — Page 220

HEALTH

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41.1 per cent and 93.6 per cent respectively of expectant mothers and local new-borns attended Maternal and Child Health Centres in the past year. Comprehensive primary health care is available for women aged 45 to 64 at three women health

centres.

The government-subvented Family Planning Association of Hong Kong runs eight birth control clinics, three youth health care centres and a mobile clinic which provide services in fertility regulation, contraception, male and female sterilisation, gynaecological check-up, pre-marital check-up, pre-pregnancy check-up, hormone replacement therapy and youth counselling. It also conducts training-in family life education and sex education in addition to outreaching programmes and publicity campaigns.

Student Health Service

The Student Health Service emphasises health promotion, disease prevention and continuity of care. A total of 11 student health service centres and three special assessment centres provide free health assessment, individual health counselling and health education to all primary and secondary school students. School health inspectors also visit schools regularly, advising on environmental hygiene and sanitation. School health officers and nurses advise on the control of communicable diseases and organise health education activities and immunisation campaigns.

Health Care for the Elderly

The provision of medical services for elderly patients is a priority area. Geriatric services are provided in all acute hospitals. Ten community geriatric assessment teams and nine psychogeriatric teams provide specialist support to elderly persons living in subvented residential care homes and those applying for residential care, as well as to their carers. There are also 455 geriatric day places provided for elderly patients in public hospitals.

Nine elderly health centres started operation in 1998 to provide integrated health services including health assessment, physical check-up, counselling, curative treatment and health education to elderly people aged 65 and above. Nine visiting health teams reached into the community and residential care settings in collaboration with other care providers to achieve wide dissemination of health knowledge. The aim of these services is to improve self-care ability, encourage healthy living and strengthen family support so as to minimise illness and disability. The teams also carried out vaccinations for elderly residents living in residential homes.

Services for the Mentally Ill and Mentally Handicapped

At the end of 1998, 3 775 beds were provided in psychiatric hospitals and 1 329 beds in public psychiatric units of general hospitals. The number of psychiatric day hospital places remained at 599. The redevelopment of Castle Peak Hospital, one of the territory's two main psychiatric hospitals, is under way. An additional 442 psychiatric beds are scheduled to be provided by the year 2000.

Community work and aftercare units of psychiatric hospitals help discharged patients. The community psychiatric nursing service and domiciliary occupational therapy service, in particular, aim to provide continual care, treatment and rehabilitation programmes for discharged mental patients in their home settings. This