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17 February 2012
Question No. 262
Name of person: Ms Tin Pei Ling
Question
To ask the Minister for Health (a) if he will provide an update on the
implementation of the National Mental Health Blueprint that was proposed in
2007; (b) how are Singaporeans with mental health conditions (but not
institutionalised) currently supported in the community; and (c) whether there
are plans to further strengthen the network and structure of support in the
community for Singaporeans with mental health conditions.
Answer
1. The National Mental Health Blueprint (NMHBP) was developed in 2006.
To date, about $178m has been invested, and results have been encouraging.
2. One of the key thrusts of the Blueprint was to increase public awareness
and education about mental health. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has
organised programmes in schools, workplaces and community settings to
increase awareness of mental health issues and facilitate early detection and
treatment. More than 40 initiatives and activities were organised last year,
reaching out to some 170, 000 students and members of the public1.
3. Another key aspect of the Blueprint was to develop integrated mental
health services. Hospital-based teams have been set up to provide integrated
mental health care and physical intervention for patients with health problems
such as those with stroke, diabetes or trauma who are also at risk of developing
mental health problems. We have set up multi-disciplinary community mental
health teams comprising doctors, nurses and allied health professionals to
provide clinical services to patients in the community, as well as urgent
intervention in the case of crisis situations. We have also introduced
programmes to train community health providers such as family physicians and
counsellors to enable them to better manage mental health conditions. Going
forward, we plan to scale up the successful programmes nationally.
4. With regard to current community support for people with mental
illnesses, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) runs three off-site specialist
outpatient clinics across Singapore and continues to develop links with
community and grassroots agencies to ensure that discharged patients have
adequate family and social support. Currently, there are two Psychiatric
Rehabilitation Homes, one Psychiatric Sheltered Home and eight Psychiatric
Day Care Centres. These facilities provide transitional care and rehabilitation
services for patients to assist their reintegration into the community.
5. Although we have made significant progress, there is much more that we
can do to improve community support for persons with mental illness. We will
be developing more medical and allied health teams in the community to further
strengthen the delivery of mental health care in community settings. We will
also be developing Intermediate and Long-Term Care services in the community
for patients with mental illness. We will be sharing further details on our plans
next month.