With a worrying rise in the number of young people suffering from mental health problems and a tragic spike in suicides, it is good to see measures being introduced to support students.
The Department for Education currently operates a three-tier emergency mechanism for schools to refer potentially suicidal students to specialist help, but further adjustments to the system, and more detailed guidance on it, appear to be needed.
The referral scheme, introduced in December and due to run until the end of the year, gives principals a tool to support at-risk pupils – a welcome response to the effects of pandemic isolation, which has been particularly brutal for young people.
School closures and learn-from-home rules have deprived most students of important face-to-face interactions with their classmates and teachers, and even when restrictions have been lifted, things haven’t been much easier, with some returning to school only to find that their closest friends and favorite teachers have moved out of the country.
The mental health crisis is all too real: A survey by China University last year found that a quarter of Hong Kong children suffer from mental illness and more than 8% of secondary school students have considered suicide.
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In the first phase of the scheme, schools will prioritise counselling for students through interdisciplinary teams, while in the second phase, under-resourced schools will refer students to an extra-curricular network organised by the social welfare department.
In the third stage, principals will refer students with severe mental health needs to hospital authorities for psychiatric services, with emergency cases being given priority.
As of March, principals had referred 168 students to public psychiatric clinics, according to the department. Lawmakers and experts have warned against medicalizing mental health issues and called for more support in schools and communities.
Questioning the numbers of psychiatric referrals is sensible and perhaps specialist advice and further education for schools would be a sensible next step.
It is important to regularly review mechanisms and other support measures and adjust them if necessary. Children, parents and schools need support. Responding to youth mental health crises must always be a top priority.
