Hong Kong’s health minister has called on the public not to label people with psychiatric disorders, saying that violent incidents involving psych patients were “isolated cases.” Hong Kong should adopt a more inclusive attitude towards psychiatric patients and do its best to help them recover, Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau told the press on Tuesday. Lo’s remarks came around a week after a man was shot in the chest by a police officer called to handle a domestic dispute on September 15.
The 38-year-old man, who had a long record of mental illness, was said to have been holding a 30-centimetre long knife and a pair of scissors. He later died in hospital. On Tuesday, Lo was asked if there was any early identification system for schizophrenic patients whose condition was worsening, and the channels available to the patient’s family to seek help.
The health chief was also asked if contacting the police was the only option, and whether the government would consider setting up a mechanism for the Hospital Authority’s (HA) psychiatric department to handle violent patients together with police and community nursing services. Lo said he would not comment on individual cases, but his staff and psychiatric nurses had been following the case, he said. The official went on to say that violent incidents were something that “everyone is unwilling to see,” and it was crucial for society not to label psychiatric patients.
“Patients with psychiatric disorders do not necess.