HONG KONG - The number of children and adolescents in Hong Kong needing “urgent” psychiatric assistance rose by 75 percent in the last five years, according to data from the Education Bureau.

Answering a query at the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung  provided data on the number of child and adolescent psychiatric specialist outpatient cases handled by the Hospital Authority from 2015 to 2020.

There were 267 "urgent" cases in 2016-2017, 239 the following year, and 282 in 2018-2019

According to the data, the number of cases involving children and adolescents that the HA triaged as “urgent” rose from 202 in 2015-2016 to 355 in 2019-2020, or an increase of 75.74 percent.

There were 267 "urgent" cases in 2016-2017, 239 the following year, and 282 in 2018-2019.

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The median waiting time before the patients could get treatment was one week but, due to the emergence of the pandemic in early 2020, the HA had to adjust its services, which might have been reduced compared to that of previous years.

During the suspension of face-to-face classes, the EDB encouraged schools to keep in contact with students through telephone or electronic means, Yeung said.

“If students are noticed to suffer from persistent or severe emotional distress, teachers should promptly refer them to the guidance personnel, school social workers, school-based educational psychologists or other professionals for appropriate support,” he added.

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Yeung said the EDB attaches great importance to the emotional education for students. 

“Regarding emotional support, we also help schools provide timely and appropriate emotional support to students through various means, including talks and workshops,” he said.

“All along, we have been working together with schools to enhance students' development amid the threat of the epidemic,” Yeung added.

Manoj Dhar, co-founder and CEO of Integrated Brilliant Education (IBEL), said the pandemic had “doubled the challenges” for the city’s non-Chinese students, particularly those coming from working-class families. To help them cope with the challenging times, IBEL, an education charity, organized sports events last year and will have a rugby event on April 7.  

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