Some mentally ill patients who have successfully received free charity program treatment have been refused a home by their families, a mental health worker said Saturday.

The Shenzhen Kangning Hospital, which specializes in treatment of mental diseases, opened Care Wards last year for treatment of homeless mentally ill patients.

The hospital has received more than 70 of such patients.

A source from the hospital, surnamed Zhang, said each patient cost about 6,000 yuan (US$720) a month.

The original funding plan for the wards would see the Shenzhen Disabled People's Association and the hospital pay two thirds of the amount, with a third coming from a patient's family.

However, Zhang said the association and the hospital had footed most of the bill because most patients could not tell where their homes were. He added that many of them had other diseases and expenses had passed 6,000 yuan each month.

This has become a big problem for the hospital when families refused to take patients back after treatment.

Zhang said some families had the fear that the hospital would ask them to pay the money they had been supposed to pay for treatment of their mentally ill members, and some just did not want the "trouble."

Zhang also said that the hospital was still trying to persuade the families to take back their family members and called for more help from the society.

(Shenzhen Daily May 17, 2005)