Work plan of psychological assistance and medical social work amid COVID-19 outbreak

Work plan of psychological assistance and medical social work services in designated hospitals for treatment of the COVID-19

Aims:
1. Provide psychological support, humanistic care and psychological counselling for patients in designated hospitals, and provide crisis intervention and psychiatric diagnosis and treatment services for those in psychological crisis.
2. Provide psychological support for medical workers and relevant service guarantee personnel working in designated hospitals to relieve their psychological pressure and burnout after intense work.

Principles:
1. Psychological assistance and medical social work services shall be included in the epidemic prevention and control of designated hospitals for overall deployment.
2. Designated hospital should coordinate with pairing assistance mental health professionals and local medical social workers to develop unified service plans.
3. Psychological assistance and medical social work service personnel should cooperate with the diagnosis and treatment in designated hospitals.
4. Psychological assistance workers and medical social workers should promise to strictly protect their patients’ privacy.

Measures:
1. Create an environment conducive to maintaining mental health
(1) Adjust lighting as required by treatment.
(2) Assist patients to keep in touch with their families and friends.
(3) Provide health education related to the treatment of physical diseases to patients with mild symptoms.
(4) Carry out various mental health education measures according to the patients’ condition.
(5) Help patients withmild symptoms set up a regular routine.

2. Carry out psychological assistance and crisis intervention for patients
(1) Indentify patients who need psychological assistance and guide them to adjust themselves.
(2) Identify patients with psychiatric behaviour problems and provide crisis intervention and psychiatric medication.
(3) Establish archives for patients requiring psychological assistance.

3. Provide psychological support and crisis intervention for medical workers
(1) Understand the actual needs of medical workers in a timely way and give reasonable suggestions conducive to their physical and mental health.
(2) Provide psychological support and crisis intervention for medical workers.

Organization and implementation:
1. Organize and manage psychological assistance and medical social work services.
2. Establish work mechanisms of overall planning and coordination, clear up division of labor and respective responsibilities.
3. Train medical workers to assist in psychological services.