ENG-1999 — Page 222

HEALTH

180

Community work and after-care 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 helps patients' social readjustment while educating them and their families on mental health. Three community psychiatric teams and nine psychogeriatric teams have been set up to provide designated care and rehabilitation programmes to psychiatric and psychogeriatric patients. Other complementary rehabilitative services run by government departments and non-governmental organisations include day-centres, halfway houses, long-stay care homes, vocational training, selective placement and social clubs.

Severely mentally handicapped persons requiring intensive nursing care and rehabilitation services are cared for at Tuen Mun Hospital (200 beds), Caritas Medical Centre (300 beds) and Siu Lam Hospital (300 beds). One outreach team has been established to provide services for early intervention.

Community Based Nursing Service

The Hospital Authority's Community Based Nursing Service provides post-discharge rehabilitative nursing care and treatment to the sick, the elderly infirm, the disabled, and the mentally ill through a network of 33 community nursing service centres and 13 community psychiatric nursing service offices. During the year, 43 100 patients were served and 555 000 home visits were made.

Port Health

The Port Health Office enforces measures in the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance and the International Health Regulations to prevent the introduction of quarantinable diseases into Hong Kong by air, land or sea. The service also regularly collects global epidemiological information, provides yellow fever vaccination and offers travel health advice. No cases of plague or yellow fever were reported in 1999.

Medical Charges

Fees in public hospitals and clinics are heavily subsidised. Patients in general wards of public hospitals are charged $68 a day. This covers food, accommodation, tests, medicine and surgery. Some private beds are provided at major hospitals with higher maintenance and treatment charges.

A consultation at a general out-patient clinic costs $37, while a specialist consultation costs $44 per session. Physiotherapy, occupational therapy and child assessment services cost $44 per session. Attendance at geriatric or psychiatric day centres and home visits by community nurses are $55 per session. Fees may be reduced or waived in cases of financial hardship.

Smoking and Health

The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health is an independent statutory body, established in 1987 to acquire and disseminate information on the hazards of using tobacco products, and to advise the Government on matters related to smoking and health.