COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH IN SINGAPORE

NOTICE PAPER NO. 583

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 4 MARCH 2026

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Hamid Razak

MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC

Question No. 1700

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) how does the Ministry define the intended role of community mental health services within Singapore’s care continuum; (b) whether community mental health services are primarily designed as (i) first-contact services (ii) post-hospital step-down care or (iii) both; and (c) how does this inform service design and resourcing.

NOTICE PAPER NO. 583

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 3 MARCH 2026

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Dr Hamid Razak

MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC

Question No. 1175

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry evaluates patient care outcomes across different tiers of the community mental health model, including (i) functional recovery (ii) service utilisation or (iii) escalation to hospital care; and (b) how do such outcomes inform the ongoing refinement of Community Outreach Teams (CREST) and Community Intervention Team (COMIT) services.

Answer

1.         Mr Speaker, my response will also address Written Question 9 by Dr Hamid Razak, that was filed in the Order Paper for the sitting on 3 March 2026.

2.         Community mental health teams include Community Outreach Teams (CREST) and Community Intervention Teams (COMIT). CREST is designated as one of the First Stops for Mental Health to improve access to screening, basic emotional support, and other mental health resources. On the other hand, COMIT provides higher level psychosocial interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, for individuals with moderate mental health needs. Both CREST and COMIT attend to patients referred for follow up after undergoing treatment at the acute hospitals. So the short answer to Dr Razak’s question today is: yes, both these resources are a first stop and also cater for follow ups in the community.

3.         MOH, together with the Agency for Integrated Care, monitors several indicators of these services. These include clinical and functional outcomes using tools such as the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) and World Health Organization (WHO) Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS 2.0). We also monitor the service utilisation and intensity of care needs of clients, including the referral sources. We use such data in our ongoing review and refinement of community mental health services, and to determine the resourcing for these services.