Yongin City to Operate '24-Hour Mental Emergency Public Beds' Starting Next Year

First Among Gyeonggi Province Local Governments
to Sign Business Agreement with Police, Fire, and Medical Institutions

Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province will operate the first '24-hour Mental Emergency Public Bed' among cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province starting January 1 next year.

On the 26th, Yongin City announced on the 27th that it signed a business agreement to operate the '24-hour Mental Emergency Public Bed' to establish a mental health crisis response system with Yongin Eastern and Western Police Stations, Yongin and Western Fire Stations, and Yongin Mental Hospital.

On the 26th, at the reception room of Yongin City Hall, participants including Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, held up the agreement documents at the business agreement ceremony for the operation of the '24-hour Mental Emergency Public Beds.' Photo by Yongin City.

The 'Mental Emergency Public Bed' is a bed that allows for rapid emergency hospitalization of individuals suspected of having mental illnesses. The purpose is to prevent situations where the patient may harm themselves or others in advance.

According to the agreement, the city will support the management, operation, and budget of the public beds; the police will be responsible for emergency hospitalization of those requiring assistance under the 'Mental Health Welfare Act.' The fire department will support on-site dispatch, emergency rescue, and transport, and Yongin Mental Hospital will secure public beds for this purpose and provide treatment. Separately, the Yongin City Mental Health Welfare Center will be responsible for post-discharge management of patients who have received treatment and been discharged.

Earlier, in October, the city enacted the 'Ordinance on the Establishment of a Mental Health Crisis Response System in Yongin City,' which provides the basis for operating and supporting public beds.

Mayor Lee Sang-il of Yongin said, "As the number of patients requiring emergency mental treatment increases, the police proposed the need to operate public beds, and the city judged it as an urgent matter for the safety of citizens and decided to support it. This agreement, achieved through public-private cooperation, will be a good policy model for the safety of citizens."

Meanwhile, according to Yongin Eastern and Western Police Stations, the number of mental emergency hospitalization referrals, which was 58 cases in 2022, nearly doubled to 111 cases last year and increased again to 147 cases this year. However, due to the lack of medical institutions capable of emergency hospitalization or admission during nights and holidays, the need to operate public beds has been raised.

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