Social News
Written by: Li Enci
2020-01-20 08:00
Last updated: 2020-01-20 08:00The Rehabilitation Advisory Committee will formulate a strategy for the third stage of the public consultation on the formulation of the new "Hong Kong Rehabilitation Plan", which will end on the 31st of this month. Ruan Shuyin, a community organization officer of the Hong Kong Community Organization Association and a member of the Mental Health Advisory Committee, pointed out that the plan mainly describes the care policies for people with physical disabilities and mental retardation, and lacks attention to people with mental illness recovery.
Ruan said that Hong Kong's recovering psychiatric patients are aging, and they generally decline 10 to 20 years earlier than ordinary people. She believes that the government should strengthen its support for the Elderly Centre and the Integrated Community Centre for Mental Health (ICCMW), so as to open up more outreach work so that older rehabilitation people can receive closer care.
The Rehabilitation Advisory Committee will conclude the public consultation period on the third stage of the formulation of the new "Hong Kong Rehabilitation Plan", which will end on January 31, 2020. (Profile picture)
Social workers: People recovering are more prone to "three highs" and fall
The Association of Community Organizations quoted a report from the Census and Statistics Department, stating that the median age of people recovering from mental illness in Hong Kong was 59, and about half of them were 60 or over. Ruan Shuyin said that the physical functions of people recovering are affected by psychological factors and side effects of drugs. They decline 10 to 20 years earlier than ordinary people, and are more prone to "three highs" and falls.
The Community Organizations Association interviewed 83 people who were 50 or older with mental illness in 2018. About 80% of the respondents stated that they had two or more chronic diseases in addition to mental patients.
Ruan Shuyin pointed out that inadequate services were provided to elderly rehabilitation people. She said that most elders usually go to elder centers, and the mechanism in them can monitor their physical condition. "But a lot of recovery people are concealed to nowhere (elderly centers), and even go when they feel fit." The survey results show that half of the respondents said that they have felt more lonely for the past 5 years than before. The Association of Community Organizations stated that the elderly centres did not give adequate consideration to the rehabilitation. For example, the lack of peaceful space could easily make the rehabilitation people feel too noisy. The mental health knowledge of the centre staff was also poor, which made them refuse or fear to serve the elderly rehabilitation people. .
Ruan Shuyin said that the physical functions of people recovering are affected by psychological factors and side effects of drugs. They decline 10 to 20 years earlier than ordinary people, and are more prone to "three highs" and falls. (Photo by Li Enci)
Comprehensive Community Centre for the Physically Deteriorated
The Social Welfare Department has also set up an Integrated Community Centre for Mental Health (ICCMW) to serve ex-mentally ill patients. The survey results of the Association show that 30% of the respondents were dissatisfied with their mental state. Ruan Shuyin said that the ICCMW provides support services such as various counselling and activities. "However, when the recovering person's body has declined to the point where actual care is needed, the center has no resources to do so."
She suggested that the Department should allocate funds to the ICCMW for outreach funds to provide more intimate community services, such as household cleaning and meal delivery, to the rehabilitation workers. This will not only help social workers to follow up the situation of the rehabilitation workers, but also help the centre to identify hidden elders. She went on to say that the government should classify service units more carefully. "The service targets and roles of elderly centres, ICCMWs, and medical institutions should be clearly separated, and complement each other first."
The huge wave of aging population in Hong Kong is about to come. When formulating policies, the government should take full account of different needs. (Profile picture)
In addition, the Hospital Authority has adult psychiatry and geriatric psychiatry. The former is mainly for controlling psychiatric symptoms; the latter is mainly used to treat psychiatric patients who have developed disease after the age of 65, and they will pay attention to whether the patients are taking medicines for other diseases and adjust psychiatric medicines. Ruan Shuyin pointed out that the HA does not currently require patients over the age of 65 to be referred to geriatric psychiatry, and the bureau's manpower is also focused on handling adult psychiatric patients. She suggested that the HA should harmonize the referral guidelines in the various networks to provide more suitable treatment for the elderly recovered.
The third stage of the public consultation period of the "Hong Kong Rehabilitation Plan" ends at the end of January
The Rehabilitation Advisory Committee will conclude the public consultation period on the third stage of the formulation of the new "Hong Kong Rehabilitation Plan", which will end on January 31, 2020. The plan proposes strategies for different stages of rehabilitation services for people with disabilities; the Chief Secretary for Administration, Zhang Jianzong, said that the government's rehabilitation aims to help people with disabilities achieve their full potential and achieve a barrier-free living environment. Assistance in formulating policies for life stages such as life and aging.
The Association of Community Organizations, in conjunction with the Department of Social Policy and Administration of the University of Science and Technology, interviewed 83 people aged 50 or over who were already mentally ill between February and March 2018. Fifty-five percent of the respondents are male, the majority; half of those aged 56 to 60 are single; nearly 90% of the respondents are single; more than 90% of the respondents have a monthly income of less than 7,000 yuan; Monthly income is less than 4,000 yuan.
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