National Bugok Hospital Takes Charge of Psychiatric Rehabilitation in South Gyeongsang Province

Focused Support for 13 Cities and Counties Including Changnyeong and Miryang Lacking Psychiatric Rehabilitation Facilities

Going forward, cities and counties in South Gyeongsang Province that lack sufficient psychiatric rehabilitation facilities will be able to utilize the day ward at the National Bugok Hospital, located in Changnyeong County, to help manage local residents with mental illnesses.

On August 10, the National Bugok Hospital announced that it will officially launch the "Sustained Treatment and Independent Living Support Program for Local Residents with Mental Illness" starting from August 11.

This program was established to reduce treatment gaps for people with mental illnesses in areas where psychiatric rehabilitation facilities are lacking or nonexistent by utilizing the professional medical infrastructure of a national hospital, and to support their stable reintegration into society. The program will be operated in collaboration with public health centers in cities and counties across South Gyeongsang Province, using the day ward at the National Bugok Hospital. After launching in Changnyeong County in July, the program has now been expanded to cover the entire South Gyeongsang region.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "National Mental Health Status Report," in 2023, the readmission rate within one month after discharge among people with mental illnesses was 24%, meaning that one out of every four patients had difficulty smoothly returning to their communities even after acute treatment.

However, more than half (50.8%) of the 358 psychiatric rehabilitation facilities nationwide?182 in total?are concentrated in the Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi metropolitan areas. Only 27 facilities (7.5%) are located in the Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang regions, which is the third lowest after the Gangwon region (0.8%) and Jeju region (1.7%). In South Gyeongsang, 13 out of 18 cities and counties?including all except Yangsan, Jinju, Changwon, Gimhae, and Goseong?do not have any psychiatric rehabilitation facilities at all.

Lee Taekyung, director of the National Bugok Hospital, stated, "We hope that collaboration between the national hospital and local governments will improve the quality of psychiatric rehabilitation services in the region and help resolve the shortage of rehabilitation facilities."