ENG-2002 — Page 216

HEALTH

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places was increased to 719. Castle Peak Hospital, one of Hong Kong's two main psychiatric hospitals, is being redeveloped.

Community work and after-care units of psychiatric hospitals offer community psychiatric nursing service and domiciliary occupational therapy service to discharged patients. These services, which form an integral element of community psychiatric service, aim to provide continual care, treatment and rehabilitation programmes for discharged patients in their home settings. Not only can these services help patients' social readjustment, they can also educate patients and their families on mental health. Community psychiatric teams and psychogeriatric teams have been set up to provide designated care and rehabilitation programmes to psychiatric and psychogeriatric patients. During the year, 22 803 outreach services attendances were served by the community psychiatric teams. Other complementary rehabilitative services run by government departments and non-governmental organisations include day centres, halfway houses, long-stay care homes, vocational training, selective placement and social clubs.

Severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia and severe mood disorders, often starts in teenage years and in early adulthood. Early detection and treatment will result in better long-term treatment outcome and reduce long-term impairment to patients. Four early intervention teams have been set up to assess persons aged under 25 and identify for early treatment those suffering from psychotic problems. As at December, 2 432 persons have been assessed, and 858 persons referred for treatment.

Severely mentally handicapped persons requiring intensive nursing care and rehabilitation services are cared for at the Tuen Mun Hospital (200 beds), the Caritas Medical Centre (300 beds) and the Siu Lam Hospital (300 beds). An outreach team has been established to provide services for severely mentally handicapped persons in the community.

Community Based Nursing Service

The Hospital Authority's Community Based Nursing Service provides post-discharge rehabilitative nursing care and treatment for the sick, the chronically ill, post-natal cases, the elderly, the disabled, and the mentally ill in the patients' homes through a network of community nursing service centres and community psychiatric nursing service offices. During the year, 64 152 patients were served and 792 822 home visits. were made.

Specialised community nursing services in the areas of hospice, respiratory, renal, and wound care have been developed to support post-discharged patients in the community. In collaboration with community geriatric assessment teams, community nurses provide professional nursing care for the elderly in private aged homes.

Port Health

The Port Health Office enforces measures in the Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance and the International Health Regulations to prevent the introduction of quarantinable diseases into Hong Kong by air, land or sea. No cases of plague or yellow fever were reported during the year.

The Travellers' Health Service, launched in July 2000, provides a 'one-stop' service to outbound travellers that includes immunisation, preventive medication, travel health risks assessment and advice. During the year, 2 198 travellers were served.