EMILY TSANG EMILY.TSANG@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 15 September, 2015, 7:00am
UPDATED : Tuesday, 15 September, 2015, 11:22am
Police officers at Lung Yat Estate yesterday where a woman was said to have leapt from a window with her son. Photo: Felix Wong
Experts have expressed concern about the severe shortage of mental health professionals in Hong Kong public hospitals after a mother suffering from depression jumped to her death with her 10-year-old son yesterday.
Based on current trends, the number of psychiatrists at public hospitals in Hong Kong is not expected to reach the level recommended by the World Health Organisation for another two decades.
There are only around 300 psychiatrists employed in the city’s public hospitals – 400 fewer than the number recommended by the WHO, which says there should be one psychiatrist available for every 10,000 people.
READ MORE: Woman and her 10-year-old son die after falling from Hong Kong tower block
Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists spokesman Dr Chan Lap-kei said the shortfall means psychiatrists in the public sector only have a few minutes to talk to each patient to decide whether their mental condition is in serious need of medical care.
“Usually we only have a few minutes to talk to a patient to see whether his or her condition is dangerous,” Chan said. “If they seem to be quite stable, we rush on to see the next patient, since the workload is really heavy.”
The woman who leapt to her death with her son from the 30th floor of a public housing block in Tuen Mun yesterday had been suffering from depression for a decade after she gave birth.
Police were investigating whether Chung Wai-sze, 38, grabbed her boy, Lo Chi-chung, a Primary Five pupil, as she jumped out of a window at the family’s home in Kin Lung House at Lung Yat Estate.
The 38-year-old woman had been receiving treatment for postnatal depression since the birth of her child 10 years ago, according to a police source with knowledge of the case.
“There simply isn’t sufficient manpower to follow up on mental health patients properly,” Chan said. “The government should increase resources for caring for patients with mental health issues.”
Chan said each psychiatrist has to see an average of around 40 mental health patients in a four-hour session every day. During a brief consultation, the doctor decides whether to admit the patient to hospital by watching for any display of suicidal or violent tendencies.
Chan said some patients classified as having a “mild” condition have to wait up to two years before they can see a doctor for treatment.
“We have seen a lot of patients deteriorate from having a mild condition to having a serious one during the long wait for treatment. The best time to intervene is being missed,” Chan said.
He said there are vacancies for psychiatrists at every public hospital, as recruitment rates have fallen behind turnover rates in the past few years. The college estimates that if this situation continues, the manpower shortage will not be resolved for 20 years.
Chan said family doctors could take up a more active role in detecting symptoms of depression. He said patients with “mild” depression, often unaware of the condition, sometimes consulted doctors for physical symptoms such as chest pain, fatigue or diarrhoea.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1858191/hong-kong-could-be-short-psychiatrists-next-20
