Opinions on accelerating the development of community rehabilitation services for mental disorders

On October 26, 2017, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, together with the Ministry of Finance, the Health and Family Planning Commission, and the China Disabled Persons' Federation drafted the Opinions on Accelerating the Development of Community Rehabilitation Services for Mental Disorders (Minfa [2017] No. 167, hereinafter referred to as the Opinions), which was issued everywhere and clearly stated that by 2025, More than 80 percent of counties (cities and districts) carry out extensive community rehabilitation services for mental disorders, and in counties (cities and districts) that carry out community rehabilitation services for mental disorders, more than 60 percent of patients at home receive community rehabilitation services, and a "socialized, comprehensive and open" community rehabilitation service system for mental disorders has been basically established, which is family-based and supported by institutions.

The Opinions pointed out that community rehabilitation service is an important way for patients with mental disorders to recover their self-care ability and social adaptability, and eventually get rid of the disease and return to society, and it is a social service with multi-disciplinary and multi-professional integration. Accelerating the development of community rehabilitation services for mental disorders is an important measure to implement the outline of the "Healthy China 2030" plan, strive to achieve the goal of "rehabilitation services for everyone with disabilities", implement the "Mental Health Law of the People's Republic of China", adhere to the principle of combining prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and make up for the shortcomings of the mental health rehabilitation system. It is conducive to preventing disability and poverty of patients with mental disorders, helping to reduce the burden of patients' families, precision poverty alleviation, and accelerating the process of comprehensive well-off society, and is of great significance to promoting the happiness of patients' families and community harmony, and maintaining social stability.

It is clear that to accelerate the development of community rehabilitation services for mental disorders, it is necessary to fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Party, firmly establish and implement the concept of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development in accordance with the strategic layout of the "four comprehensives" and the decision-making and deployment of the Party Central Committee and The State Council, further improve the system and mechanism, and promote resource integration and policy coordination. Efforts should be made to strengthen the supply and quality of services, and constantly meet the needs of multi-level and diversified community rehabilitation services for people with mental disorders. It is necessary to adhere to the basic principles of government-led, social participation, demand-oriented, enhanced services, overall promotion, and classified guidance, give full play to the leading role of the government in planning, policy support, capital investment, supervision and management, and promote the self-care of patients with mental disorders and return to society as the ultimate goal, and integrate community rehabilitation services for mental disorders into the mental health service system. We will integrate and expand medical rehabilitation, educational rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, social rehabilitation and other professional services, strengthen top-level system design and scientific layout, provide classified guidance, and make precise efforts to solve development problems in different regions in a targeted manner.

"Opinions" proposed that we should focus on expanding service supply, increase government investment, actively guide the participation of social forces, constantly optimize the service stock, expand the service increment, vigorously promote the diversification of service subjects and diversified forms of service, establish and improve the grass-roots service network, vigorously cultivate service institutions, and constantly enrich service forms. It is necessary to explore the establishment of a service referral mechanism, build an information referral platform, make full use of information technology, improve the management capacity and service capacity of data sharing and exchange of community rehabilitation resources, establish a rehabilitation referral mechanism and employment referral mechanism, strengthen the integration and coordination of mental disorder treatment and rehabilitation resources, and establish a service referral system with information sharing, smooth connection and orderly operation. Gradually overcome the obstruction of the circulation of medical and rehabilitation services. It is necessary to support families to better play the main role, strengthen the main responsibility of family guardianship, build community support networks, innovate policy support systems, take effective measures to constantly consolidate and enhance family care functions, and promote families to become an important force and resource in the community rehabilitation service system for mental disorders. It is necessary to improve the level of service management, improve the service management mechanism, establish a technical guidance system, strengthen quality and safety management, actively promote standardization and standard certification, build a scientific management mechanism according to law, promote the standardization, standardization and professional development of community rehabilitation services for mental disorders, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of patients with mental disorders and service institutions.