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Following is a question by the Hon Cheung Kwok-che and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, in the Legislative Council today (October 31):
Question:
Some social workers who are engaged in the provision of elderly services have relayed to me the aging trend among patients with mental illness, as well as the rising number of ex-mentally ill persons staying in residential care homes for the elderly (RCHEs). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the current number of patients with mental illness in Hong Kong, together with a breakdown by disease groups in the diagnosis profile adopted by the Hospital Authority; the current number of patients with mental illness who are over 65 years old in Hong Kong;
(b) among the discharged patients with mental illness who are over 65 years old, of the respective current numbers of those staying in RCHEs (e.g. care and attention homes and nursing homes) and hostels for ex-mentally ill persons (e.g. halfway houses and long stay care homes) which are subvented by the Social Welfare Department; and
(c) under the current policy and with the existing services, how the authorities cater for the needs of the elderly with mental illness for rehabilitation and residential services; whether the authorities will consider providing specialised services to patients with mental illness who are over 65 years old; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Government has all along been mindful of the residential care service needs of elders and ex-mentally ill persons. The residential care services for the elderly subsidised by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) aim to provide residential care for elders who, for personal, social, health and/or other reasons, cannot be adequately taken care of at home, having regard to their varying levels of care needs. There are two major types of subsidised Residential Care Homes for the Elderly (RCHEs), viz. care-and-attention homes, and nursing homes. As regards ex-mentally ill persons, SWD offers various kinds of residential services, including long stay care homes, halfway houses and supported hostels, to newly discharged mental patients who are unsuitable for living at home having regard to their rehabilitation needs.
My reply to the Hon Cheung Kwok-che's question is as follows:
(a) At present, about 187 000 patients are receiving psychiatric specialist services provided by the Hospital Authority (HA). The approximate number of patients with common mental disorders is as follows:
Types of Number of patients
mental disorders who received
HA's psychiatric services
in 2011-12
(rounded to the
nearest hundred)
Schizophrenia 44 600
and related disorders
Affective disorders 49 500
Dementia 11 300
(Note:The total sum of the above three types of patients does not represent the total number of patients currently receiving HA's psychiatric specialist services)
Among those patients currently receiving HA's psychiatric specialist services, about 40 000 patients are aged 65 or above.
(b) At present, around 450 elders aged 65 or above are receiving services at residential care homes for ex-mentally ill persons subvented by SWD.
SWD does not have statistics on the number of discharged mental patients residing in subsidised RCHEs.
(c) At present, hospital clusters under HA are providing psychiatric specialist services for mental patients aged 65 or above. Appropriate services will be arranged based on their clinical needs. HA's psychiatric specialist services include in-patient, specialist out-patient, day training and outreach services, etc.
For ex-mentally ill persons with residential care needs who are confirmed to be suitable for admission to residential care homes, social workers will arrange for their admission to suitable care homes according to the assessment of their attending psychiatrists. After admission, social workers of care homes will review their mental conditions from time to time. If there is a need to transfer an ex-mentally ill person to another type of care home, the social worker will consult his/her attending psychiatrist and take follow-up action to ensure that he/she receives the most suitable services. For discharged mental patients with long-term care needs who are residing in long stay care homes for ex-mentally ill persons, they will normally stay in the same long stay care homes even after they have reached the age of 65 for a continuum of care.
On the other hand, for those elders assessed to be suitable for admission to RCHEs, appropriate care services will be provided according to their mental conditions after admission. SWD has been providing subsidised residential care services for the elderly through an integrated service mode. Even if an elder has different care needs as a result of changes in his/her health conditions, he/she can still receive continuous and appropriate services in the same RCHE.
SWD will continue to closely monitor the use of residential services and ensure that appropriate care is given to meet the varying needs of elders and ex-mentally ill persons.
Ends/Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:15
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