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Health

Outreach dental teams set up by NGOs receive government subsidies and provide free dental services, including fillings, extractions and dentures, to elderly people in residential care homes and similar facilities.

A new three-year programme named Healthy Teeth Collaboration was launched in July following the completion of a four-year pilot project, to continue providing dental services to adults with intellectual disability who were recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), the Disability Allowance or the Hospital Authority's medical fee waiver. Eligible patients get subsidised checkups, treatment and oral health education at designated clinics, and treatment under intravenous sedation or general anaesthesia at designated hospitals.

Mental Health

The government adopts an integrated approach in promoting mental health, encompassing prevention, early identification, timely intervention and rehabilitation. Cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary support and care are available through the collaboration of government bodies including the Food and Health Bureau, Labour and Welfare Bureau, Education Bureau, Hospital Authority, Social Welfare Department and Department of Health.

The Hospital Authority is a major medical service provider for people with mental disorders. Its psychiatric services include inpatient facilities, day hospitals, specialist outpatient clinics and community outreach. In 2017-18, about 251,300 people received treatment and support through these services.

The Advisory Committee on Mental Health, set up in December 2017, advises the government on mental health policies, including the establishment of more integral and comprehensive approaches to tackle multifaceted mental health issues. It assists the government in developing policies, strategies and measures to enhance mental health services. It also follows up on and monitors the implementation of the recommendations of the Mental Health Review Report promulgated in April 2017, including those concerning the Dementia Community Support Scheme and Student Mental Health Support Scheme.

Since its establishment, the committee has discussed ways to enhance mental health services. for children and adolescents; mental health promotion, education and destigmatisation; and mental health prevalence surveys.

Based on the committee's recommendations, the government commissioned two universities in 2018 to conduct three territory-wide mental prevalence surveys covering children, adolescents and the elderly, in order to gather comprehensive information on the mental health status of the Hong Kong population.

Other Special Services

Specialist facilities under the department include 19 methadone clinics, 17 chest clinics, seven social hygiene clinics, four dermatological clinics, two integrated treatment centres, four centres and clinics providing services related to clinical genetics, seven child assessment centres and two travel health centres. These facilities recorded over 2.6 million attendances in 2018.

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