Nowon-gu Secures Seoul's First 24-Hour Public Psychiatric Emergency Beds Among Autonomous Districts

Establishment of a 24-Hour Rapid Response System for Mental Emergency Situations with Self-Harm and Harm to Others Risks in Nowon-gu
Agreement Signed by Related Agencies for the Safety of Mental Emergency Patients and Residents
(Nowon-gu Office⇔Nowon Police Station⇔Nowon Fire Station⇔Dongdaemun Mentos Hospital)
First Case in Autonomous District to Secure Public Hospital Beds in Seoul, Reducing Anxiety over ‘Idangdonggi Crimes’

Nowon-gu, Seoul (Mayor Oh Seung-rok) announced that it has established a 'rapid response system' for psychiatric emergency patients at high risk of self-harm and harm to others.

The main achievement is securing public hospital beds that can be immediately utilized in psychiatric emergency situations. The district has built a rapid response system and signed agreements with Nowon Police Station, Nowon Fire Station, and Dongdaemun Mentos Hospital to protect the safety of psychiatric patients and residents.

Notably, securing 24-hour public hospital beds within Seoul, rather than Gyeonggi Province, is the first case among autonomous districts. The district expects to enhance emergency response capabilities and the efficiency of follow-up care.

Starting with the enactment of an ordinance on establishing a mental health crisis response system in October 2022, the district has operated a consultative body with related organizations. Following the emergence of abnormal motive crimes by psychiatric patients as a social issue in 2023, the district gathered opinions through psychiatric emergency consultative bodies and local security councils and actively pursued securing public hospital beds.

Through this agreement, Dongdaemun Mentos Hospital was designated as the '24-hour Nowon-gu Psychiatric Emergency Public Hospital,' and the secured public beds are exclusively available to Nowon-gu residents. According to district officials, Dongdaemun Mentos Hospital is suitable for emergency medical care with continuous management after 72 hours of emergency admission, staffed by four psychiatric specialists, and has the firm commitment of the hospital director regarding bed operation.

Along with securing public hospital beds, roles for cooperation among related organizations in psychiatric emergency situations have been systematically organized.

Nowon Police Station immediately responds on-site with the district office and fire station when a psychiatric emergency patient occurs or is judged to be at risk of self-harm or harm to others. Nowon Fire Station supports emergency measures on-site and transportation to the designated medical institution, Dongdaemun Mentos Hospital.

Nowon District Office (Health Center, Mental Health Welfare Center) supports the budget for public hospital beds and assists with administrative procedures necessary for emergency and administrative hospitalization together with the police and fire stations. The district also manages psychiatric patients discharged after hospitalization and connects them to mental health services.

A health center official from Nowon-gu said, “Compared to the 1,480 mentally disabled people in the area based on 2022 statistics, there were no beds exclusively available for 24-hour emergency situations, causing long delays in transportation to medical institutions. This difficulty will now be resolved,” expressing high expectations for this agreement.

The signing ceremony for operating the 24-hour psychiatric emergency public hospital beds will be held at Nowon District Office on January 25 at 4:30 PM, attended by the district mayor, heads of Nowon Police Station and Fire Station, and the director of Dongdaemun Mentos Hospital.

Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon-gu, stated, “Many residents will feel reassured knowing that we have secured the capacity to respond quickly to psychiatric emergency patients,” adding, “We will continue to strive to improve the mental health management level of residents and create a safe Nowon where everyone can live with peace of mind.”

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