Upcoming measures addressing mental health issues among youth

NOTICE PAPER NO. 3126

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 16 OCTOBER 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Razwana Begum Abdul Rahim

Nominated MP

Question No. 6649

To ask the Minister for Health in light of the Ministry's statement on 19 September 2024 that findings from the National Youth Mental Health Study affirmed the approach under the National Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy to tackling youth mental health issues and that many of the measures under the Strategy are already in place while others will be progressively rolled out across the next few years (a) what are the measures that are yet to be rolled out; and (b) what is timetable for their introduction.

Answer

1     We will be designating first-stop touchpoints to enable individuals to receive support early and to facilitate access to higher-tier services when needed. For instance, a new national mental health helpline and text line service will be introduced in mid-2025 to offer psychological first-aid for those facing mental distress. Those who require additional support including crisis management will be referred to the relevant services. 

2     Our other upcoming measures include The Positive Use Guide on Technology and Social Media which will be ready in the first half of 2025. It will guide healthy and positive uses of technology and social media, and provide recommendations to mitigate their potential negative impact. In addition, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information, and the Infocomm Development Authority are studying whether further requirements such as age assurance are needed to prevent children and youths from accessing age inappropriate content on relevant online communication services.