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Hands-on approach to mental illness

With the aim of combatting the fear and misconceptions surrounding mental illness, Castle Peak Hospital’s Mind Space museum enables visitors to experience hallucinations, similar to the sensory experiences mentally ill patients encounter, by way of rooms that utilise virtual reality (VR) technology.   A group of secondary students recently embarked on a journey through Mind Space after registering and receiving patient wristbands. This unique mental health experience museum provided them with a comprehensive understanding of the development of psychiatric services in Hong Kong.   Displays in the museum showcase intriguing relics, including the evolution of restraints and handwritten patient records. Additionally, the students were given the opportunity to explore a mock protection room designed to provide a calming environment for patients.   Furthermore, students could learn about the scientific aspects behind the causes of mental illness at the Brain Tour zone. One of the
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Admission of non-local doctors crucial

The Government said it is necessary to amend the Medical Registration Ordinance to create a new pathway to allow more qualified non-locally trained doctors to practise in Hong Kong's public healthcare sector to expand the city's pool of doctors.   In response to media enquiries on the proposed admission of non-locally trained Hong Kong doctors to practise in the city's public healthcare institutions, the Food & Health Bureau pointed out that it is an irrefutable fact that there is currently a shortage of doctors in Hong Kong.   For per capita doctor ratio, Hong Kong has a ratio of two doctors per 1,000 people which lags behind other advanced economies, including Singapore (2.5), Japan (2.5), the United States (2.6), the United Kingdom (3) and Australia (3.8).   The bureau said that there are insufficient doctors in the public healthcare sector.   Currently, the waiting time of specialty services in the Hospital Authority is extremely long. The waiting time for routine cases in some areas such as Medicine, Ophthalmology and Orthopaedics & Traumatology is over 100 weeks, the bureau said, adding the situation is unacceptable.   On the proposal to attract more qualified non-locally trained Hong Kong doctors to practise in public healthcare institutions, the bureau stressed that the licensing examination is not the only way to ensure the quality of doctors.   It said the proposal does not bypass the Medical Council of Hong Kong and there is a higher requirement for non-locally trained doctors.   The Government will meet representatives of the medical profession in batches starting next week and hold public consultation sessions to gauge public views.   It will then submit the Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill to the Legislative Council in the second quarter of the year.
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