With daily reports of suicides and violent episodes involving the mentally ill, our fair city probably has one of the worst mental health strategies in Asia (or how about none?). A big problem with Hong Kong’s mental health care is the shortage of medical staff, as there is one doctor for every 30,000 people — far less than the median rate of one to 10,000 in high-income countries.
The Hong Kong Mental Health Council has urged the government to set up a mental-health commission to manage the problems of long-term patients with community-based strategies, such as coordinating medical treatment with follow-up support for patients and their families, to better help patients on the road of recovery. We can’t agree more!
Source: SCMP
Photo: harmon, Flickr
