******************************************************
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said today (May 14) that the Government attached great importance to the welfare needs of formerly mentally ill persons and their families.
More than $70 million has been allocated in this financial year to extend the district-based one-stop integrated mental health service to all 18 districts in the territory and, at the same time, strengthen the manpower with a view to stepping up community support service, he noted.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Hong Kong's first Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness, Mr Cheung said, "We have kept under regular review the operation and provision of community support service to respond to the changing needs of our service users."
He pointed out that at present, formerly mentally ill persons had to go to different non-governmental organisations for service in various stages of rehabilitation. A pilot scheme of one-stop integrated service in Tin Shui Wai was implemented in March last year to strengthen the support for formerly mentally ill persons and their carers.
"Given the wide acceptance and support of the new model from the public, some $70 million has been allocated to expand this integrated service model to all districts in the territory.
"The manpower at these centres will also be increased to tie in with the Hospital Authority's (HA) 'Case Management Programme' to provide timely and appropriate support for patients with severe mental illness living in the community.
"Also, an additional $6 million has been set aside to recruit 14 additional psychiatric medical social workers to support HA's Recovery Support Programme for the newly discharged psychiatric patients."
Mr Cheung said that to provide appropriate and timely support for formerly mentally ill persons and their families, enhancing community service alone was not enough. It is important for medical and social rehabilitation services to complement each other to facilitate the smooth implementation of the new initiative.
In this regard, the Social Welfare Department and the HA have strengthened communication at both the central and district levels, and collaboration with non-governmental organisations and related organisations has also been stepped up.
The Wellness Centre provides a wide range of services including public education, day training and counselling services and outreaching visits. If necessary, the centre will liaise directly with the HA for urgent medical consultation to meet the varying needs of service users. It is expected that the centre will serve some 450 mental patients and 1,200 family members.
Ends/Friday, May 14, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:43
NNNN
