A 10-year review of a Hong Kong model for mental health care of people with intellectual disability.
Following the movement from institutionalization to community care, there has been a transformation of services for people with intellectual disability over the past few decades. Kwai Chung Hospital in Hong Kong is a pioneer in Asia that took the initiative of improving the mental health care for this underserved population by setting up a specialist unit called the Psychiatric Unit for Learning Difficulties (PULD) 10 years ago. This new service was established through re-engineering of existing resources and re-distribution of manpower within the psychiatric hospital. This paper reviews the work of PULD and examines its achievements. By sharing the experiences of PULD, it is hoped that health providers currently without such a specialist service can make similar reforms to enhance their provisions for people with intellectual disability and mental health problems.
Kwok
Henry
H
Psychiatric Unit for Learning Disabilities, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hong Kong. kwokwmh@ha.org.hk
D000328:Adult; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D015897:Comorbidity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006723:Hong Kong; D006754:Hospital Restructuring / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration; D013038:Specialization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000078329:Workforce