Incheon City Operates 31 "Life-Loving Hospitals" Monitoring Outpatients at Risk of Suicide

Incheon Saengmyeong Sarang Hospital Leaflet [Provided by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City announced on the 25th that it will expand the operation of 'Saengmyeong Sarang Hospital' (Life-Loving Hospital), which monitors and prevents the risk of extreme self-harm among patients visiting hospitals.

Following the designation of six hospitals and clinics as Saengmyeong Sarang Hospitals last year, this year the city plans to operate a total of 31 institutions by adding 10 psychiatric medical institutions and 15 neighborhood hospitals and clinics.

At Saengmyeong Sarang Hospitals, medical staff within the hospital act as 'Life Guardians' to monitor the risk of extreme self-harm among visiting patients and connect high-risk groups to support organizations.

The city, in cooperation with Saengmyeong Sarang Hospitals, will conduct activities such as training healthcare personnel as Life Guardians, identifying high-risk groups for extreme self-harm and linking them to support organizations, providing information on preventing extreme self-harm, and promoting awareness to spread a culture of respect for life.

According to a joint study by the Incheon Suicide Prevention Center and the Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation, the proportion of individuals who had visited psychiatric departments or hospitals and clinics before dying by extreme self-harm was 51.9% and 25.9%, respectively.

Additionally, according to the 2021 statistics on deceased persons by the National Police Agency, mental illness accounted for the largest proportion, 40.8%, of causes of death by extreme self-harm in Incheon.

An official from Incheon City stated, "We will continue to establish a system to identify individuals at risk of extreme self-harm and strive to strengthen the social safety net."

Meanwhile, any medical institution located in Incheon can participate as a Saengmyeong Sarang Hospital, and applications can be submitted through the Incheon Suicide Prevention Center website.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.