Speech by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, at the 13th ASEAN Federation of World Psychiatry and Mental Health, Friday, 16 November 2012

Dr Lee Ee Lian, President of the Singapore Psychiatric Association and the ASEAN Federation for Psychiatry & Mental Health

Prof John Wong, Chairman, Organising Committee of the 13th Congress of the ASEAN Federation of Psychiatry and Mental Health

Dr Jennifer Lee, Chairman, Agency for Integrated Care

To our distinguished guests from overseas

Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

Good morning everyone and welcome to Singapore.

2 I am very pleased to be here at the opening of the 13th Congress of the ASEAN Federation of Psychiatry and Mental Health (AFPMH). The AFPMH has grown considerably since its inception in 1981, with increasing participation from ASEAN countries over the years. Through its biennial congress and the ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, the AFPMH has provided excellent platforms for experts from different parts of the world to come together to share lessons on how to better manage and improve mental health.

Mental Health in ASEAN and Singapore

3 There is growing recognition of the importance of mental health in ASEAN. Mental health was made a focus area under the ASEAN Strategic Framework on Health Development endorsed at the ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting in 2010. An ASEAN Mental Health Taskforce, led by Thailand has been set up to promote cooperation among ASEAN member states in this area, and Singapore is supporting the work of the Taskforce, particularly the raising of public awareness about mental health and the facilitation of knowledge sharing among member states. We hope, at this conference, to learn from the experiences of our fellow ASEAN countries and to share our own lessons.

4 The theme for this year’s Congress – “Minding our Communities” brings a timely focus onto Community Mental Healthcare. Let me take this opportunity to share with you our strategy in Singapore. In Singapore, our healthcare landscape needs to transform in order to meet the challenges of a growing and ageing population. One of the key challenges we face is the growing burden of mental disorders. As our population grows, the number of Singaporeans with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, anxiety and depression is expected to increase in tandem. As the population ages, the number of Singaporeans with dementia will also increase significantly.

5 Under the National Mental Health Blueprint (NMHBP) which was rolled out in 2007, we have invested around $180m to improve core mental health services in Singapore. Hospital-based teams have been set up to integrate mental health care with physical health care for patients with problems such as stroke, diabetes or trauma. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has conducted mental health education and promotion efforts to improve awareness and understanding of mental health issues, reaching out to some 170,000 students and members of the public in 2011 alone. Furthermore, initiatives such as the Response, Early Assessment and Intervention in Community Mental Health (REACH) programme have been rolled out to provide early detection and enhanced
access to treatment.

6 While significant progress has been made over the past five years, we also recognise that more needs to be done. One key gap is that much of our mental health care remains very hospital-centric, and there is a need to build up mental health services in the community.

Community Mental Health Initiatives

7 We have set up two specialist-led multi-disciplinary teams in the community known as Assessment and Shared Care Teams. These teams would be integrated with our primary care services, so that a person with a mental health condition could visit a clinic near him to receive the care he needs, instead of having to see a psychiatrist in hospital. These two teams, one in Yishun led by Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and the other in Ang Mo Kio led by National Healthcare Group, have seen over 200 patients since commencing services this year in August and October respectively. They have also been working closely with community service providers in their area by providing the latter with training and support in the care of the mentally ill.

8 We have also set up two Community Mental Health Intervention Teams, or COMIT for short, to provide allied health services such as counselling and psychotherapy to support GPs in managing patients with mild to moderate mental conditions. The first one has been operating in the northern region since January this year. Another team will be launched by end of November this year in Yishun.

9 We recognise that social support is an extremely important part of care for the mentally ill. To that end, we are working with the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) to set up four Community Resource Support and Engagement, or CREST, teams over the next two years. These teams will reach out to seniors who may be at risk of developing mental conditions and help clients and their families learn how to manage and live with dementia or other mental illnesses. The first CREST team is now operational for residents in the northern region. It has helped over 30 patients to date. A second team has just been started in Marine Parade. 

10 We have also put in place a mental health helpline through which community service providers can link up with healthcare services when they encounter difficult situations. It provides 24-hour support and, if necessary, home visits to conduct pre-crisis intervention to people with mental health issues and their caregivers. We are currently working closely with our social ministries and related agencies to gradually extend this home visit service to clients of identified community partners, such as Senior Activity Centres.

11 Initial feedback on these new programmes has been encouraging. For instance, caregivers have shared that these new services have helped to increase their confidence and lessen their emotional distress when taking care of their family members. However, these are early days and we will need some time to evaluate the programmes properly. Once they have proven to be effective, we will work on expanding these initiatives across the rest of Singapore. Our eventual goal is to build a network of mental healthcare and support services that are closely integrated with each other and with the rest of the healthcare system.

Conclusion

12 Though we have made good progress, Singapore still has a long way to go in the development of mental health services. It is therefore both a privilege and an opportunity for us to be hosting this congress. With so many experts from different fields in mental healthcare and from various parts of the world gathered together, I am sure that all of us will benefit from the discussions over the next two days. Let me take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the Singapore Psychiatric Association and all the members of the organising committee for making this congress possible.

13 Thank you.

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