Can gaps in Hong Kong’s psychiatric care be fixed by tighter control on patients? New orders could help, but concerns remain over rights: experts
- Community treatment orders, which allow hospitalisation of patients, are among ideas to improve mental healthcare after high-profile incidents
- But medical experts say steps must be taken to ease concerns over patient rights
Hong Kong could address loopholes in its handling of psychiatric cases by mandating compulsory hospitalisation for patients in the community who fail to follow treatment, but steps must be taken to ease concerns over rights, medical experts have said.
The orders are a legal provision designed to ensure patients with mental disorders follow their prescribed course of treatment when they are not in the care of hospitals. Compulsory treatment in hospitals can be enforced if patients fail to comply.
A review of local mental health services in 2017 had ruled the option inappropriate.
About 1,300 people are currently subject to conditional discharge, the city’s only mandatory treatment mechanism. But the measure only applies to patients with violent tendencies and who are discharged from a psychiatric facility.
Psychiatrist Dr May Lam Mei-ling, founder and president of the Hong Kong Mental Wellness Association, said community treatment orders could fix this loophole.
The current requirements for a resident to be involuntarily admitted are that the person, typically an offender, must be diagnosed with a mental disorder, has no understanding of their mental illness, rejects any form of outpatient treatment, and is at risk of hurting others or themselves, according to the psychiatrist.