Nearly 800 being followed up with rehab services

The Health Bureau (SSM) has announced that its psychiatric service team has so far followed up on 786 cases to provide care, support and rehabilitation services to patients with severe mental illness, of which 178 were remission cases, as cited in a TDM report.

The reply comes after lawmaker Ron Lam questioned the bureau on what it had done in respect of the rising number of suicide and instances of emotional distress and workplace bullying.

The SSM replied that, in the future, it would further integrate social resources, strengthen the “four-level joint prevention mechanism,” and enforcement of guidelines established by the SSM for mental health.

According to SSM, it currently has 15 psychiatric specialist and 26 psychotherapists at the public hospital, which it believes is enough to cope with demand.

Previous data from the public hospital’s Department of Psychiatry shows that it has diagnosed a total of 200 residents in 2022 with common mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, among others.

Although, according to the SSM, the figure was similar to the annual average of previous years, Caritas noted that as of August this year, its Life Hotline had received nearly 6,947 calls and online requests seeking assistance. Of these, 527 callers were suffering from depression, and 179 were on the verge of suicide. Staff Reporter