After a spate of brutal murders, mental health gets a closer look

Beijing - A large-scale mental health-screening program will soon be launched in Central China's Hubei province to improve service to locals suffering serious mental disorders, with the aim of ensuring public safety, the provincial mental health administration said.

Under the program, those who might be a threat to public safety will receive free treatment in the province, where there are an estimated 800,000 patients with a variety of serious mental illnesses, including depression, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Patients who display great propensity for violence will be the focus of the program to help maintain social security," said Wang Gaohua, deputy director of psychiatry of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association.