Mental Health Support Hotline sees 30,000 calls for help since launch

Hong Kong’s “18111 – Mental Health Support Hotline” has seen around 30,000 calls for help since its launch in December last year, an average of about 349 calls per day.

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau told Legco on Wednesday that, as of March 21, the hotline has answered around 30,000 calls and provided immediate support. Common reasons for people making the call include mental distress (21 percent), family relationships (14 percent), physical health problems (13 percent) and work pressure (12 percent).

Around 200 cases were referred to the Social Welfare Department, the Hospital Authority ,and non-governmental organizations for further follow-up. Among them, two cases required immediate assistance from the police.

The health chief said the SAR government will take into account the outcome of the operation review to consider the feasibility of extending the service to other platforms, such as instant messaging software, in consultation with the Advisory Committee on Mental Health in due course.

The government also plans to commission a service evaluation study by an independent organization in the third quarter of 2024, said Lo.

“The government is preparing the study framework, including exploring different directions of collecting views from relevant stakeholders – such as NGOs – through focus groups and conducting questionnaires, etc, with a view to evaluating the services comprehensively,” Lo added.