Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) yesterday said that details of a “judicial mental hospital” needs to be ironed out by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, both of which hope to move forward with the plan as soon as possible.
The location, source of funding and staffing of the facility are among the details that need to be worked out by the ministries, he said at a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, where lawmakers discussed the central government’s social security net after the fatal stabbing in July last year of a railway police officer by a man with a history of schizophrenia sparked questions about its effectiveness.
Several lawmakers questioned Tsai about progress on establishing the facility.
While the ministry’s budget for next year has largely been planned, it could reappropriate funds from the existing budget for the creation of the judiciary mental hospital, he said, adding that gradual implementation of the plan is a viable option.
Tsai on Monday said that the two ministries had agreed to jointly create the facility to treat people with mental illness sentenced to custodial protection.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare would provide medical expertise, while the Ministry of Justice would be responsible for security, he said.
The Chiayi District Court on Thursday last week acquitted the man, surnamed Cheng (鄭), of murdering the railway police officer, and ordered him to undergo five years of mandatory psychiatric treatment.
The verdict did not meet the public’s expectations, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said.
About 150,000 people in Taiwan have sought treatment for schizophrenia, Department of Mental and Oral Health Director-General Shen Lih-Jong (諶立中) said, citing National Health Insurance (NHI) records.
Lin said given that it would be “impossible” for the nation’s medical institutions to take in all schizophrenia patients, a social safety net is needed to help them.
One rehabilitation facility in Hsinchu offers daytime services through a partnership with the NHI system where patients only pay for meals and additional activity fees, and the NHI subsidizes a standard fee of NT$480 per day per person, Lin said.
However, the facility, which serves 44 people, faces multiple challenges, including rising operating costs and difficulty recruiting staff, he said.
Urging the Ministry of Health and Welfare to provide more resources to such facilities, Lin asked ministry officials to submit a report to the committee within a month reassessing the assistance the ministry provides to similar facilities.
Providing a social safety net is not just the health ministry’s responsibility, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wu Yu-chin (吳玉琴) said.
An integrated effort across multiple government agencies — including the education, labor and interior ministries — is needed, she said.
KMT Legislator Lee Guei-min (李貴敏) said that if issues with the social security net are to be solved, discussions need to go beyond budget shortages.
Despite a steady increase in the number of social workers over the past five years to 8,512 last year, there is still “not quite enough” social workers in the nation, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said.
On average, each social worker is responsible for handling nearly 40 cases, he said.
Additional reporting by Chen Wei-tzu and CNA
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