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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Kwok-che and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (February 3):
Question:
Regarding the mental health services provided by the Hospital Authority (HA), will the Government inform this Council whether it knows in the past two years:
(a) the following annual figures of the psychiatric specialist out-patient clinics of public hospitals and mental hospitals under HA:
(i) the respective numbers of persons aged five or below, six to 12 and 13 to 19 (children and youths (C&Ys)) treated at the aforesaid specialist out-patient clinics and; among them, the number of new cases involved, and the respective numbers of C&Ys diagnosed as having mental health problems;
(ii) the respective average waiting time and attendances for cases for first appointment and scheduled appointments (including urgent and non-urgent cases) of psychiatric specialist out-patient services for C&Ys and adults;
(iii) the number of admissions of C&Ys to mental hospitals;
(iv) the respective numbers of C&Y mental illness cases handled by the aforesaid specialist out-patient clinics and mental hospitals, with a breakdown by the type of illness (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, anxiety and other emotional illnesses, etc.); and
(v) the percentage of C&Ys and adult out-patients of psychiatric specialist out-patient who did not turn up for follow-up consultations (including urgent and non-urgent cases);
(b) the respective numbers of admissions of C&Ys with mental health problems to half-way houses, supported hostels and long-stay care homes each year;
(c) the number of cases handled under the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Community Support Project, as well as the number of psycho-educational activities held and the hours of consultation service provided each year; and
(d) the respective numbers of psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in public medical institutions who provided services for C&Ys with mental health problems?
Reply:
President,
(a)(i) The number of patients at the psychiatric specialist outpatient (SOP) clinics of the Hospital Authority (HA) and the number of new cases among them in 2007-08 and 2008-09 by age group are set out in Annex 1.
(ii) At present, under the triage system for new SOP cases in HA, SOP clinics consider the clinical conditions, major symptoms and findings of physical examination of new patients and arrange the date of appointment having regard to the severity of their conditions. The age of the patients is not a major consideration.
The number of overall first attendances and follow-up attendances and the median waiting time for first appointment at psychiatric SOP clinics of HA in 2007-08 and 2008-09 are set out in Annex 2.
During each consultation, doctors of SOP clinics will conduct assessment on the patient and consider whether he or she needs to undergo further examination and receive treatment or refer the patient to other specialties for follow-up having regard to his or her clinical conditions. Doctors would arrange the date of follow-up consultation of each patient based on the clinical conditions and treatment needs of the patient.
(iii) In 2007-08 and 2008-09, the number of discharges of psychiatric inpatients aged 0-19 of HA were 1,048 and 1,310 respectively.
(iv) The number of psychiatric outpatients and inpatients aged 0-19 of HA in 2007-08 and 2008-09 are set out in Annex 3.
Statistics of psychiatric patients aged 0-19 of HA diagnosed with the three more common types of mental disorders of this age group in 2007-08 and 2008-09 are shown in Annex 4.
(v) HA does not have the statistics by age group on the rate of psychiatric patients defaulting in their scheduled appointment. The overall default rate of psychiatric outpatients in 2007-08 and 2008-09 were 12.2% and 12.7% respectively.
For patients who default in their scheduled appointment, the psychiatric SOP clinics will, depending on the circumstances, actively contact the patients and follow up to ensure that patients in need will be provided with timely treatment as far as possible.
(b) In 2007-08 and 2008-09, the number of attendances of persons aged 0-19 residing in half-way houses subvented by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) were 5 and 19 respectively. No person aged 0-19 resided in the long stay care homes and supported hostels subvented by SWD in these two years.
(c) To facilitate the early identification of children and adolescents with mental health problems with a view to providing them with necessary services as early as possible, SWD and HA implemented the "Child and Adolescent Mental Health Community Support Project" in collaboration since 2005. The Project was fully transferred to HA for implementation since July 2009. In 2007-08 and 2008-09, the Project handled a total of 259 and 194 cases and organised 191 and 166 psycho-education activities and consultation services. In addition, the Project also establishes linkages with community organisations to provide child and adolescent psychiatric patients with personalised rehabilitation services as well as training and activities relating to daily living and vocational skills in community settings. This is to help them overcome the adverse impact of mental disorders and develop mental wellness.
(d) At present, there are approximately 19 psychiatrists and 8 clinical psychologists providing child and adolescent psychiatric service in HA. Apart from psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, healthcare staff of other disciplines, including psychiatric nurses, medical social workers and occupational therapists, also provide mental health services to children and adolescents.
Ends/Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:25
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