ENG-2019 — Page 193

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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.

Healthy Teeth Collaboration, a three-year programme launched by the department in 2018, provides dental services to adults with intellectual disability who are recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), the Disability Allowance or the Hospital Authority's medical fee waiver. In September, the department also set up a Special Care Service in Hong Kong Children's Hospital and an outreach dental programme in special child care centres under the Social Welfare Department to provide dental care for pre-school children under six with intellectual disability.

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 services are available through collaboration among government bodies and other relevant organisations 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 2018-19, about 261,800 people received treatment and support through these services.

The Advisory Committee on Mental Health advises the government on mental health policies, including the establishment of more integrated and comprehensive approaches to tackle multifaceted mental health issues. It helps the government develop policies, strategies and measures to enhance mental health services. It also follows up on and monitors the implementation of recommendations in the Mental Health Review Report.

Since its establishment in 2017, the committee has advised the government on commissioning two universities to conduct three territory-wide mental health prevalence surveys, covering children, adolescents and the elderly; taking forward the ongoing mental health promotion and public education initiative; launching the Mental Health Workplace Charter; exploring a new service protocol for child and adolescent mental health services; and strengthening manpower in the Hospital Authority's Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service and the Department of Health's Child Assessment Service.

Other Special Services

Specialist facilities under the department include 19 methadone clinics, 17 chest clinics, eight social hygiene clinics, four dermatological clinics, one integrated treatment centre, four centres and clinics providing services related to clinical genetics, seven child assessment centres and two travel health centres. These facilities recorded around 2.4 million attendances in 2019.

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