Hospital Authority (HA) and the Corporate Clinical Psychology Services (CCPS) are dedicated to the development of
disaster psychosocial services (DPS). Teams have been established to provide appropriate psychological services for
the following two target groups to alleviate the impact of trauma on their psychological well-being.
HA Psychological Support during Local Disasters and
Major Incidents
Target Client Group (1):
- Survivors and their families
Service Provider:
- Disaster Psychosocial Services Teams (DPSTs)
DPSTs are mainly composed of clinical psychologists and medical social workers from acute general hospitals.
Spiritual support is also provided by Buddhist/Catholic/Protestant pastoral care workers if required. Currently, HA
has established 17 DPSTs with over 300 members in the following hospitals:
| Cluster |
Hospital |
| Hong Kong East |
Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital |
| Ruttonjee & Tang Shiu Kin Hospitals |
| Hong Kong West |
Queen Mary Hospital
|
| Kowloon Central |
Queen Elizabeth Hospital |
| Kwong Wah Hospital |
|
Kowloon East
|
United Christan Hospital |
| Tseung Kwan O Hospital |
| Kowloon West |
Princess Margaret Hospital |
| Caritas Medical Centre |
| Yan Chai Hospital |
| North Lantau Hospital |
| New Territories East |
Prince of Wales Hospital |
| Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital |
| North District Hospital |
| New Territories West |
Tuen Mun Hospital |
| Pok Oi Hospital |
| Tin Shui Wai Hospital |
Service Scope:
DPSTs take the following actions at each incident stage:
1. Services provided at acute response stage
- Provide Psychological First Aid (PFA)
- Provide Acute Grief Support (AGS)
- Evaluate and intervene in severe traumatic reactions
2. Services provided at the recovery stage
- Provide psychological recovery services
Target Client Group (2):
- HA staff and disaster workers affected by stressful events during a disaster (potential stressors could be
e.g. contact with severely injured or dead children)
Service Providers:
- Oasis
Offers consultations with Clinical Psychologists who provide psychological assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for
HA staff who are experiencing emotional and psychological distress due to disasters and critical incidents.
- Critical Incident Psychological Services (CIPS) Centre
Offers psychological services to HA staff during critical incidents, such as psychological triage services and
counselling to facilitate increased access to the necessary psychological support. Centres are set up in all
Clusters.
- Critical Incidents Support Team (CIST)
Helps employees who are experiencing stress reactions by providing peer support to alleviate the negative impact of
disasters. CISTs are set up in various hospitals.
Service Scope:
1. Services provided at the preparedness stage
- Pre-incident trainings
- Pre- deployment briefings that provide information on the incident
- Circulation of psychoeducational materials to promote psychological wellness
2. Services provided at acute response stage
- Critical Incident Stress Management
- Helpline services
- Distribution of psychoeducational information and materials
- Provision of resource booklets on psychosocial services
- Psycho-spiritual support
3. Services provided at the recovery stage
- Individual psychological service
- Psychotherapeutic groups for staff directly affected by the disaster
For details about the services as mentioned above, please click here.