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Phila Siu

Anyone treated for mental illness in hospital should be legally bound to visit their doctor regularly, a psychiatrist says.
Only inpatients are currently required to do so by law after they are discharged from hospital.
The mental health issues of some outpatients might not be serious enough to warrant a hospital stay, where they could be closely monitored by medical workers, Dr Ting Sik-chuen, former chairman of the Society of Psychiatrists, said.
Left to their own devices, these patients might stop taking the medication that controlled their conditions, leading to a gradual deterioration of their mental health, he warned.
"Inpatients already discharged from hospitals are required to pay regular visits to their doctors. But the [Mental Health Ordinance] does not cover outpatients," Ting said yesterday.
Having the law include outpatients would make it easier to keep track of their recovery progress, he said.
On Saturday, police arrested a 72-year-old man who allegedly stabbed to death a mother, 37, inside a lift in Sau Mau Ping in front of her two daughters, aged five and 10.
Ting said the city had 210,000 mental patients, of whom 40,000 to 50,000 people had a serious mental illness. "We cannot cage them," he said. "There is no proof that mental patients have a tendency towards violence."
There have been several recent court cases involving mentally ill people assaulting others.
A High Court judge sent a schizophrenia patient, 31, to the Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre in January after he admitted seriously injuring two female neighbours who were chatting outside his flat in Tin Shui Wai.
Another schizophrenic man, who pleaded guilty to using a paper cutter to wound at least three people in Kwun Tong, had his hospital order extended from one year to two years in the District Court in December.
The Mental Health Council urged the government in February to set up a commission that could manage the problems of long-term patients and look into the lack of an overall care strategy. The council said current policy concentrated on medical services while neglecting community-based care.
The call came after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, in his latest policy address, devoted only one paragraph to mental health - a pledge to provide new-generation drugs and boost manpower for patient services.


Psychiatrist calls for law requiring mentally ill outpatients to see their doctor

Dr Ting Sik-chuen says there are 40,000 to 50,000 people in Hong Kong with a serious mental illness.

News

Hong Kong

Patients should berequired to see their doctor regularly, psychiatrist says


Anyone treated for mental illness in hospital should be legally bound to visit their doctor regularly, a psychiatrist says. Only inpatients are currently required to do so by law after they are discharged from hospital.
