[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province has secured some beds in private hospitals as public beds for the treatment and protection of emergency psychiatric patients, establishing a 24-hour emergency response system. This is expected to enable rapid patient protection, including emergency treatment, constant emergency admission, and transfer measures.
Gyeonggi Province announced on the 6th that since the 22nd of last month, it has been operating '24-hour psychiatric emergency public beds' at three locations (one bed each): Yonsei Seoul Hospital (Ansan), Hwaseong Chorok Hospital (Hwaseong), and Uijeongbu Healing's Hospital (Uijeongbu).
Emergency psychiatric patients require hospitalization due to suicide attempts or the risk of harming others, but the use of psychiatric medical institutions is being avoided due to concerns about hospital infections amid the spread of COVID-19.
Accordingly, this year, the province held a public contest and selected four public beds at private medical institutions to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Currently, three beds selected in the first round have been in operation since last month, and one more bed will be additionally selected.
Regarding the procedure until admission, when a psychiatric emergency situation is confirmed through the police, etc., the 'Gyeonggi-do Mental Health Welfare Center Emergency Response Team' conducts initial screening and suitability evaluation before transferring the patient to a public bed.
Patients admitted receive appropriate treatment services according to the type of psychiatric hospitalization. In addition, a cooperative system with local community-related organizations such as the police, fire department, and mental health welfare centers will be established to strengthen not only emergency response but also case management after discharge.
This is part of the existing 'Gyeonggi-do 24-hour Psychiatric Emergency Response System Enhancement' project.
Since March last year, the province has been operating a 24-hour COVID-19 screening clinic for psychiatric emergency patients using the negative pressure ward of Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Suwon Hospital.
This is because a different approach is required from general patients in the process of identifying movement paths through interviews, epidemiological investigations, and bed transfers.
The psychiatric emergency patient screening clinic contributed to strengthening emergency response during the COVID-19 situation, with 23.7% (196 people) of all emergency admissions in Gyeonggi Province last year using the service.
According to the province's analysis of usage last year, the total number of inquiries was 2,413, and the number of referrals was 524.
Among them, after suitability judgments excluding simple intoxication cases, 196 people actually underwent testing (all negative).
Looking at detailed operational status, 77.2% of the 196 had a psychiatric history. Referring institutions were the police (58.4%), mental health institutions (28.8%), and fire department (7.8%). By diagnosis, schizophrenia was the most common at 33.5%, followed by bipolar disorder at 19.9%, and depression at 19.6%. Regarding 'risk status,' 44.1% were at risk of harming others, 30.6% self-harm, and 23.5% both self- and other-harm.
Ryu Young-cheol, Director of the Health and Wellness Bureau, said, "We are grateful that private psychiatric medical institutions have participated in securing 24-hour psychiatric emergency public beds in Gyeonggi Province during the national disaster situation caused by COVID-19," and emphasized, "We will continue to do our best to respond quickly to psychiatric emergency situations involving risks of self- and other-harm and to create a safe environment for all Gyeonggi residents."
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