APCATS

Background

The Aged Psychiatry Community Assessment and Treatment Service (APCATS) is a community-oriented psycho-geriatric outreach service set up in 2006, to provide assessment and treatment for homebound or frail elderly patients with mental disorders.

The APCATS – Regional Eldercare Agencies Partnership (APCATS-REAP) is an extension of APCATS launched in 2008. The aims are to:

• Extend partnership with community eldercare agencies and primary care practitioners to meet the psychosocial needs of the elderly in the community;
• Empower the community eldercare agencies and primary care practitioners to manage the elderly with mental disorders through training, consultation and support.
• Enhance awareness and facilitate early detection of mental disorders in the elderly.

Our team comprises geriatric psychiatrists, medical officers, psychologists, geriatric-psychiatric nurses, occupational therapist, physiotherapist and medical social workers.

The training modules are offered free to our partners, while staff from non-partnering agencies are charged a nominal fee. Certificates of participation will be given to participants for each module completed. For more information on partnerships, please click here.

All trainings are conducted in English, including training materials. For more information, please contact us at the following:

Training Provided

The REAP team provides:

1. Basic Modules (Full day: 8 hours)
   
   Identifying Depressive Disorder and Dementia in the Elderly 
   
   Module 1: Understanding depression and how to screen for depression in the elderly using the EBAS-DEP (Even Briefer Assessment Scale for Depression) [4 hours]
   
   Module 2: Understanding dementia and how to screen for dementia in the elderly using AMT (Abbreviated Mental Test) [4 hours]

2. Intermediate Modules (Half day PM: 4 hours)

   Elderly Wellness and Mental Health Problems in the Elderly

   Apart from our Basic Training Courses, we also provide intermediate training to deepen understanding. Some of our enriching Intermediate Training modules include:

   Module 1:   Person-Centered Care (PCC)

   Module 2:   Communication with persons with dementia

   Module 3:   Dementia management II

   Module 4:   Activities for persons with dementia

   Module 5:   Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)

   Module 6:   Legal and ethical issues in dementia and elder abuse

   Module 7:   Memory rehabilitation for early stage dementia

   Module 8:   Understanding loss and grief

   Module 9:   Home safety and fall prevention

   Module 10: Stress and mental well-being

   Module 11: Suicide risk assessment and management

   Module 12: Psychological and emotional well being of elderly

   Module 13: Anxiety disorders in the elderly

   Module 14: Psychotic disorders in the elderly

3. Partnering eldercare agencies on the REAP programme can benefit from the following training privileges:

• Free Training package (for staff and volunteers)
• Two (2) Basic Modules and Monthly Intermediate Modules