TNAG-1606-FCO40-22121-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 256

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I

Peak

of the cases of the type dealt with by report. In the Castle

Hospital, I am afraid, the position is not quite SO

satisfactory and it is not yet possible to implement this

recommendation fully. On Mr. HUI'S third point of cases

approached by

psychiatric

understand that as

nurses and social workers, I

a result of the recruitment of а

considerable number of psychiatric nurses, the number of home

visits has increased from 2,033 in 1983 to 10,585 last year.

terms but the

DR. HO: Sir, the halfway houses are familiar

community therapeutic centre is a fancy one. May this Council

be informed what steps have been taken to educate the public of

these facilities?

SECRETARY

FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE:

Sir, the halfway houses as

Dr. HO says are familiar in that we have had halfway houses for

some years. They deal with the ordinary run of ex-mental

patients who do not need any particular security or other

arrangements when they are

living in halfway houses.

The

report referred to special halfway houses and the community

therapeutic centre is, as Dr. HO says, a slightly fancy term

for this type

type of

institution. There has been in areas, and

particularly in Sha Tin, where it is proposed to open a number

of these centres. Originally there was considerable public

opposition to this idea but an extensive publicity campaign has

been undertaken by the Social

Welfare Department with the