Beijing, China - Peoples Republic of
A CHINESE PATIENT STANDS NEXT TO A NURSE AT THE BEIJING MENTAL HEALTH
COLLABORATING CENTRE IN BEIJING....
A Chinese patient stands next to a nurse at the Beijing Mental Health
Collaborating Centre in China's capital October 21, 2002. About 16
million people in China, or 1.23 percent of the country's population,
suffer schizophrenia, depression or other mental illnesses, according
to the Ministry of Health. Patients on the mainland suffering serious
psychiatric problems face a bleak future because of staff shortages and
a lack of public awareness and legislation. China has only 575 mental
health hospitals even though about 15 in every 1,000 mainlanders suffer
from mental illness. The number of nurses and doctors specialising in
psychiatry was only 130,000. REUTERS/Andrew Wong
ASW/DL