Press Releases
FHB receives report from review committee on management and follow-up of mental patients
The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) today (August 3) received a report
submitted by the Review Committee of the Hospital Authority (HA) on the
management and follow-up of mental patients with reference to the mental
patient incident in Kwai Shing East Estate in May this year. In its report,
the Review Committee has made a number of suggestions on improvements to
community support services for such patients.
A spokesman for the FHB said: "We support the recommendations of the Review
Committee to help enhance community care for mental patients.
"To this end, we have in recent years implemented various initiatives to
enhance community support services for mental patients. In 2010-11,
additional funding of over $100 million is provided to the HA for launching
two new programmes to strengthen the support for mental patients."
For persons with severe mental illness, the HA has piloted a Case Management
Programme with healthcare personnel taking up roles as case managers to
provide these patients with intensive, continuous and personalised support.
For persons with common mental disorders, the HA has set up Common Mental
Disorder Clinics to provide them with more timely assessment and
consultation services and will introduce an Integrated Mental Health
Programme later this year to engage the primary care services in supporting
these patients.
Stressing that the Government is committed to promoting mental health
through the provision of a comprehensive range of mental health services,
the spokesman added: "We would like to thank the chairman and all members of
the Review Committee for their efforts and suggestions made. We will study
the recommendations of the Review Committee in conjunction with the HA and
other relevant bureaux/departments, and consider service improvement
measures to further enhance support services to mental patients in community
settings."
After discussion by the Working Group on Mental Health Services chaired by
the Secretary for Food and Health on May 26, 2010, the HA set up a committee
to review its management and follow-up of mental patients, including its
liaison with other service providers with reference to the incident in Kwai
Shing East Estate.
The Review Committee was chaired by the Chairman of the Hospital Governing
Committee of Castle Peak Hospital and President of the Open University of
Hong Kong, Professor John Leong, and its members consisted of a mix of
stakeholders from the medical and social welfare sectors.
Ends/Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Issued at HKT 18:00
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