Expansion of mental health welfare institutions in China

China will offer better medical care and rehabilitation services to people in extreme hardships and with mental disorders, with the move aiming to protect the people's interest and regulate the operation of mental health welfare institutions.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Health Commission recently released a guideline to optimize the management of domestic mental health welfare institutions and their workers.

Under the guideline, mental health welfare institutions offer treatment and care mainly to older adults, people with disability, or children under 16 years old in extreme living hardships who have lost working abilities or are without stable incomes and have mental disorders. These welfare institutions are set up and supervised by the civil affairs ministry.

Vagrants or homeless people and those receiving the government's basic living allowance can also get access to services from mental health welfare institutions.

"The older adults, people with disability, or children under 16 years old in extreme living hardships and having mental disorders usually need long-term medical treatment and lifelong rehabilitation assistance, and they can get these services at mental health welfare institutions the ministry founded. These institutions offer not only life care services but also entertainment, living and social skills training based on the patient's willingness and ability," said Zheng Zhende, an official from the civil affairs ministry, at a news conference in Beijing on Wednesday.

He added that the ministry will continue channeling investment to establish more mental health welfare institutions to ensure more patients under extreme hardships get access to these services in the future.

The guideline requires mental health welfare institutions to offer services with a human touch and protect the patient's dignity, individual safety, and property from being encroached on. The workers should not discriminate, insult, abuse, or discard the patients and should not restrict the patients' freedom.

Under the guidelines, authorities of all levels should work to increase the salaries of workers at mental health welfare institutions and let them get equal opportunities with other medical institutions in terms of continuing education or exchange programs. Local authorities should also optimize the evaluation system of the workers and give them fairer payment and benefits.

According to the ministry, the guideline will take effect on March 1. So far, the nation has about 141 mental health welfare institutions, with 74,000 beds supervised by the ministry, and over 60,000 patients are receiving treatment and services at these institutions.