Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin today said the Three-Tier School-based Emergency Mechanism has helped refer 168 cases of secondary students with severe mental health needs to the Hospital Authority’s (HA) psychiatric specialist services.

Responding to questions from lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen at the Legislative Council, Ms Choi said the mechanism aims to provide support for students with higher risk as early as possible, given the upward trend of suspected student suicide cases in 2023.

The Government has implemented the three-tier mechanism in all Hong Kong secondary schools from December 2023 to December 2024 through the cross-departmental collaboration of the Education Bureau (EDB), the Health Bureau and the Social Welfare Department (SWD).

In the first-tier, schools will give priority to caring for and counselling students with higher risk and provide timely assistance and seek professional counselling or treatment services for them through the school's interdisciplinary team.

The education chief pointed out that to strengthen school personnel's early identification of and support for students with suicidal tendencies, the EDB has been providing guidelines and a 60-hour thematic course for teachers every year.

It also organised online training courses for primary and secondary schools last December, with about 1,000 school personnel enrolling for the courses.

Furthermore, the EDB organised more than 40 additional training courses and workshops early this year, with an enhanced focus on enriching school personnel's knowledge and skills in caring for students with mental health needs, benefitting about 2,200 people.

In the second-tier, if the schools consider that they need to seek extra support subsequent to the identification and school-based intervention in the first-tier mechanism, they may seek assistance from the off-campus support network co-ordinated by the SWD.

As of March this year, the support network team has received a total of 69 referral cases.

The EDB has also collaborated with the SWD to arrange the support network team to visit about 150 secondary schools to organise mental health activities since February this year, with a view to enhancing students' awareness of mental health as well as strengthening their adaptability and awareness of seeking help.

In the third-tier, school principals may refer students with severe mental health needs to the HA’s psychiatric specialist services. After triage and screening, the HA will accord priority to urgent cases.

The HA has also set up a telephone consultation hotline specifically to provide professional advice for school principals.

As of March this year, total of 168 referrals and 75 telephone enquiries from school principals were received through the mechanism.

Ms Choi noted that based on the EDB’s understanding and communication with schools, with the concerted efforts of schools and various stakeholders, school personnel's awareness on students' mental health has enhanced in general with them being able to early identify and support students with higher risk.

She added that the operations of the mechanism's second-tier and third-tier are smooth, providing timely and appropriate counselling and treatment to students in need.

The Government will closely monitor the operation of the mechanism and engage a consultant to evaluate its effectiveness.