Mental Hospitals and Facilities Vulnerable to COVID-19 Infection Will Be Exclusively Managed by Local Governments

Shift from Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters-Centered Response to Field and Local Government-Centered Approach

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] In preparation for the resurgence of COVID-19, the COVID-19 response system for psychiatric hospitals and facilities vulnerable to infection will be shifted to a local government-centered approach.

On the 29th, the government announced that with the transition to the general medical system, the COVID-19 response system for mental health promotion facilities will shift from a central focus such as the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to an on-site, local government-centered approach. Mental health promotion facilities refer to psychiatric medical institutions, psychiatric nursing facilities, and psychiatric rehabilitation facilities as defined under the "Mental Health Welfare Act."

Accordingly, COVID-19 prevention, investigation, and response for mental health promotion facilities will be exclusively handled by on-site investigation and response support teams in each city and province.

Each city and province must secure treatment beds and transport resources for patients with mental illnesses in advance by utilizing designated infectious disease-dedicated psychiatric hospitals within their jurisdiction. They must also strengthen the management of confirmed case statistics and inspect infection control practices at psychiatric medical institutions where cluster infections have occurred two or more times.

Furthermore, to enhance infection control capabilities by facility, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) will inspect whether infection control committees and infection control offices are established and operated at 233 psychiatric hospitals with 100 or more beds. Infection control education will be expanded to infection control managers of psychiatric hospitals and workers at psychiatric medical institutions, nursing facilities, and rehabilitation facilities.

The health authorities noted that mental health promotion facilities are representative 3M (dense, close-contact, enclosed) institutions vulnerable to COVID-19 infection and tend to experience rapid spread through cluster infections when confirmed cases occur, thus requiring more meticulous management. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said, "We will carefully manage and support infection-vulnerable facilities such as mental health promotion facilities to minimize cluster infections, considering their unique characteristics."

Previously, since COVID-19 emerged in Korea in 2020, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has established a response system centered on national psychiatric hospitals. During the Omicron wave, all national psychiatric hospitals were utilized as treatment beds for confirmed cases, and infectious disease-dedicated psychiatric hospitals were designated and expanded, operating a cooperative system with local governments.

Additionally, infection control consultations were provided for psychiatric medical institutions with cluster infections, proactive testing and vaccination encouragement were conducted for patients and workers, and the in-hospital prescription of oral COVID-19 therapeutics for psychiatric inpatients was expanded to establish a system enabling rapid treatment.