Burst
Written by: Zhu Yashuang
2021-04-12 07:01
Last update date: 2021-04-12 07:01
The average score of the territory-wide mental health index dropped to only 44.48 at the beginning of last year. The mental health of the public has attracted much attention.
Cheng Zhigang, director-general of the Hong Kong Mental Health and Hygiene Association, said that the mental health services in Hong Kong cannot be separated from medical and community rehabilitation. At present, medical and community center resources have great room for improvement. Mental health comprehensive community centers are seriously understaffed. Kwun Tong District 1 A case manager is responsible for 60 to 70 cases, which is twice that of foreign countries. As the population increases and the number of cases increases, the government should increase its funding.
Cheng Zhigang, director-general of the Hong Kong Mental Health and Hygiene Association, said that there is a lot of room for improvement in medical and community center resources.
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
The Hong Kong Mental Health Index has been deteriorating in recent years. At the beginning of last year, the average score dropped to only 44.48. The mental health of the public has attracted much attention.
Following the decision in last year's policy address that the Beat Drugs Fund will provide additional resources of 300 million yuan to strengthen community support for people in need; this year's Budget proposes to increase the recurrent funding of about 147 million yuan to strengthen the psychiatric services of the HA.
Cheng Zhigang, Director-General of the Hong Kong Mental Health Association, said that the mental health services in Hong Kong are inseparable from medical and community rehabilitation. The government is currently increasing funding for the Hospital Authority. It is not known to increase medical staff, drugs or other parts. The current medical and community centers Resources have great room for improvement.
The Mental Health Advisory Committee is restarting the mental health survey, which will be completed at the end of this year at the earliest. Only when the age group, needs, and risk factors of the patients are grasped can they allocate resources for the right medicine.
"The rehabilitation of a mental patient does not depend on medical treatment alone. It does not require food and medicine." Patients need to be in touch with society, integrate into the community and have their own lives. Therefore, support after they leave the hospital is very important, such as whether to take medicine on time, Follow-up visits, whether you have a sense of illness, occupational rehabilitation and social networking also need assistance, and the responsibility falls on community centers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Since October 2010, the Social Welfare Department has set up 24 comprehensive mental health community centers, each serving about 330,000 people. However, as the population has increased over the past ten years, funding has not increased, resulting in a significant increase in the workload of community center staff and social workers.
Take the Kwun Tong District Community Center operated by the Heart Health Association as an example. The district had a population of about 660,000 10 years ago, so there were two centers. However, in recent years, Anda Village alone has brought a population of 30,000 to 40,000. At present, each community center There are 11 to 12 case managers, each of whom will follow up from 60 to 70 cases, far exceeding the 50 recommended by the HA. At the same time, they have to be responsible for public education, treatment groups, interest groups, and contact family members. There is a serious shortage of manpower.
Compared with Australia and New Zealand, each case manager is responsible for 30 cases and focuses on following up on cases. Even though Hong Kong is difficult to keep up with foreign countries, as the number of cases increases, the government should increase funding.
Each case manager of the Integrated Mental Health Community Centre in Kwun Tong follows up to 60 to 70 cases, and there is a serious shortage of manpower.
(Photo by Huang Weimin)
Cheng Zhigang believes that the reasonable number of cases the case manager of the community center is responsible for must be continuously reviewed; the connection and cooperation with the Hospital Authority must also be established. The comprehensive mental health (community) center seems to be a single-package service, and everything related to mental health will be sold out." In addition, some comprehensive mental health community centers still have no venues, and users find it difficult to use the services. The health club set up a meeting place, but as the number of cases increased, the meeting place did not expand. Some community centers "do not even have enough space for staff to sit". He criticized the government for slower review and "the government is more rigid and less rigid."
Cheng Zhigang pointed out that the discrimination problem in Hong Kong has improved compared with the 1960s and 1970s. In the past, it was said that "you go to the green hills. I don't mind being friends with patients, but they may not be willing to be neighbors. There are still citizens who oppose the establishment of mental health facilities near their homes. Therefore, it is difficult to find venues for some community centers.
"Take three steps and take two steps back. Talk about mental health when nothing happens and be happy, but when there is a tragedy or mental accident, everyone will turn around." He emphasized that mental health services require long-term operation and cooperation, starting from elementary school education It starts to change, and after a few generations, I believe that the care for mental health will be greatly improved.
A spokesperson for the SWD said that of the 24 integrated community centres, 17 have provided services at permanent venues; another 5 have been identified as suitable locations for permanent venues. These centres are or will be undergoing construction and/or renovation engineering.
The remaining two integrated community centres have also reserved space for new development or redevelopment projects under planning. The SWD will maintain close contact with relevant departments to implement the permanent locations as soon as possible.
To meet the needs of the operation and service provision of the centre, the SWD currently fully subsidizes the leasing of suitable spaces in integrated community centres that do not have permanent venues for temporary service points or office purposes.
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