[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is establishing a 24-hour emergency admission system at Gyeyo Hospital in Uiwang City and Ajupyeonhan Hospital in Suwon City to respond to emergency situations such as self-harm by patients with mental illnesses.
Gyeonggi Province announced on the 5th that starting this month, it has designated Gyeyo Hospital and Ajupyeonhan Hospital as psychiatric emergency medical institutions and will operate them on a pilot basis.
Accordingly, these two hospitals will designate three beds each, totaling six beds, as 24-hour emergency admission beds to be used in case of psychiatric emergencies.
Currently, the 24-hour psychiatric emergency medical institutions operating in the province are two public medical institutions: Yongin Saeroun Gyeonggi-do Psychiatric Hospital and Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Uijeongbu Hospital.
The province plans to hold an additional public recruitment for two more institutions, using the designation of private hospitals as psychiatric emergency medical institutions as an opportunity.
This pilot project is a measure in response to the increase in emergency admissions of untreated patients with mental illnesses.
Ryu Young-cheol, Director of the Health and Wellness Bureau of the province, said, "Most mental illnesses can be managed to allow daily life if continuously treated, but in the case of untreated severe mental illness patients, emergency admission treatment can minimize damage when emergencies occur," adding, "We will build infrastructure without delay to enable early intervention and treatment of mental illness patients by closely cooperating with the police, who are the first to respond to psychiatric emergencies."
Meanwhile, according to the province, the number of emergency admissions of untreated mental illness patients with high risk of self-harm or harm to others increased by 29.4%, from 888 cases in 2020 to 1,148 cases in 2021.
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