MEDICAL AND HEALTH

During the past year the emphasis on the preventive aspects of medicine was begun with the drafting of legislation for the compulsory immunisation of the young members of our population against the twin scourges of Tuberculosis and Diphtheria. The legislation will be presented to the Legislative Assembly shortly. Tuberculosis continues to be the major health problem of the community. Legislation, now in final form, will provide for the immunisation of children at secondary school entrance level. Such a measure, consistently applied, is expected to decrease sharply the incidence of Tuberculosis in the younger population. Towards the end of the year an X-Ray campaign is planned to ascertain the incidence of Tuberculosis in the adult population.

Plans for a mass Family Planning campaign to stimulate an awareness of intelligent planned parenthood among the adult population have been completed and should be launched by the end of the year.

Hospitals

The Thomson Road Hospital, opened in late 1959, now accepts acute general medical cases. Plans are in hand to develop it into a full District Hospital for acute surgical, obstetric and gynaecological cases. Woodbridge Hospital is being re-designed to house certain categories of the chronic sick so as to make available the accommodation and facilities at the General Hospital for medical cases requiring better attention.

Among the improvements to hospitals planned for the coming year, is the expansion of the Government Medical Store to increase the capacity for manufacture of tablets, sterile preparations and drugs, the establishment of a Third Medical Unit, General Hospital, to increase the number of general medical beds by 120, and improvement and expansion of the Orthopaedic Services to include new Theatres, X-Ray unit and Laboratory units and to increase the number of Orthopaedic beds by 150.

Out-patient clinics

Two Out-patient clinics will be opened at Jalan Kayu and Lim Ah Pin Road. More Maternity and Child Health Centres will be built next year, particularly in the rural areas.

Recruitment

The first batch of 35 nurses from Chinese and Malay schools were recruited into the Nurses Training School in September 1959, in accordance with Government policy. Two months later 17 Chinese and Malay educated pupil midwives were recruited. The policy of encouraging non-English educated girls to join the Nursing Service will be pursued.