04.04.01.03. Timely dementia diagnosis, post-diagnostic supports and care | Hong Kong SAR

04.04.01.03. Timely dementia diagnosis, post-diagnostic supports and care | Hong Kong SAR

18 Aug 2022

The Mental Health Review Report (MHRR) reveals that there is inadequate expertise and capacity in early diagnosis and post-diagnostic support of dementia in primary care setting (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a, p. 161). The report proposes five recommendations on promoting timely diagnosis, intervention, and best practices in managing different stages of dementia.

  • “Recommendation 3 – A common reference should be developed to support primary care professionals on the diagnosis and management of dementia” (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a, p. 186).
  • “Recommendation 4 – The role of primary care in the provision of dementia care should be enhanced through capacity building” (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a, p. 186).
  • “Recommendation 5 – The capacity of specialist services in HA should be strengthened to facilitate timely intervention of dementia cases through the implementation of a refined intervention model, while reducing the waiting times of specialist services” (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a, p. 187).
  • “Recommendation 8 – It is necessary to enhance medical-social collaboration and further integrate the delivery of healthcare and social care interventions to provide patient-centred support” (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a, p. 188).
  • “Recommendation 9 – End-of-life care and palliative care in the community setting should be promoted to minimise unnecessary and repeated hospitalisations” (Food and Health Bureau, 2017a, p. 189).
References:

Food and Health Bureau. (2017a). Mental Health Review Report.  Retrieved from https://www.fhb.gov.hk/download/press_and_publications/otherinfo/180500_mhr/e_mhr_full_report.pdf.

Working Group on Elderly Services Programme Plan, Elderly Commission of Government of Hong Kong SAR,. (2017). Elderly Services Programme Plan. Hong Kong: Elderly Commission of Government HKSAR Retrieved from https://www.elderlycommission.gov.hk/en/download/library/ESPP_Final_Report_Eng.pdf.