Yeongdeungpo-gu Secures 24-Hour Public Beds for Mental Emergency Care

Resolving the Shortage of Beds for Rapid Admission to Meet Increasing Mental Emergency Demand
On the 8th, Yeongdeungpo Police Station, Yeongdeungpo Fire Station, and Yonsei Seoul Hospital Signed a Business Agreement on 'Public Bed Operation'...Securing Public Beds at Yonsei Seoul Hospital to Build Infrastructure for Timely Admission and Treatment

Yeongdeungpo-gu (District Mayor Choi Ho-kwon) announced that it will secure and operate 24-hour public psychiatric emergency beds to ensure the safety of residents amid an increase in cases of high-risk mental illnesses and psychiatric emergencies such as depression and suicide.

A "psychiatric emergency situation" refers to circumstances where a patient’s own or others’ safety and health may be threatened due to psychiatric disorders. The number of hospitalization requests due to psychiatric emergencies in the district increased more than twofold from 38 cases in 2022 to 80 cases in 2023, and is expected to rise further. (Source: Yeongdeungpo Police Station)

However, when emergency hospitalization is required due to psychiatric emergencies, it has been particularly difficult to promptly secure beds during nighttime, weekends, and holidays, causing significant challenges for patients, families, police officers, and paramedics responding on site.

In response, on July 8, the district signed a business agreement on the "Operation of Public Psychiatric Emergency Beds" with Yonsei Seoul Hospital (Director Jang Hyuk-jin), Yeongdeungpo Police Station (Chief Kang Sang-moon), and Yeongdeungpo Fire Station (Chief Oh Jae-kyung) to establish a rapid psychiatric emergency response system.

Through this agreement, each institution will share roles and make every effort in response. The district will manage and operate the public psychiatric emergency beds and provide budget support; ▲ Yeongdeungpo Police Station will handle emergency hospitalization for subjects under the Mental Health Welfare Act; ▲ Yeongdeungpo Fire Station will support on-site dispatch and emergency rescue and transport; and ▲ Yonsei Seoul Hospital will secure 24-hour public psychiatric emergency beds and provide psychiatric emergency treatment.

Additionally, the Yeongdeungpo-gu Mental Health Welfare Center plans to conduct follow-up care for patients discharged after psychiatric emergency treatment. The district aims to protect residents’ safety through a thorough response system.

Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo-gu, stated, “Through this business agreement, we will do our best to respond swiftly to psychiatric emergencies and protect the safety of our residents,” adding, “We will continue to spare no support to create an environment where residents can live with peace of mind.”

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