24
Hospital Cluster
Psychiatric Out-patient Attendance in 1996-97
No of Community Psychiatric Nurses
Hong Kong East
33,853
6
Hong Kong West
37.522
4
Kowloon East
24,090
4.5
Kowloon Central
34,603
Kowloon West
750
20*
New Territories South
111.784
New Territories North
56,679
11*
New Territories East
21,088
Community psychiatric nurses share the caseload within these hospital clusters.
The average daily number of home visits made by each community psychiatric nurse was 2.4 in 1995/96. The frequency of home visits will tend to vary according to individual circumstances but in general, each patient will be visited once every three to four weeks. Apart from home visits, community psychiatric nurses also provide direct assistance or advice to patients, their families and other community carers through telephone consultation. About 80% of the patients involved are suffering from schizophrenia, while the other 20% are related to depression, anxiety neurosis and substance abuse. Home visits may sometimes be carried out jointly by two community psychiatric nurses to provide quality management, particularly for initial visits, crises intervention or patients with relapsing symptoms, and to reduce potential risks associated with remote locations.
The Hospital Authority has identified the need to improve medical services for psychiatric patients as a priority area. To this end, new initiatives are being considered in its annual plan for 1997/98 to enhance community psychiatric service, to develop psychiatric rehabilitation service and forensic psychiatric service, to improve psychiatric coverage to general hospitals as well as to establish comprehensive child and adolescent psychiatric services.
End