Committee of Supply 2022 debate, Day 6: Janil Puthucheary on integrated mental health services
Mental health care services will be made more accessible and delivered in many settings, as well as integrated into the community and general medical services. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is stepping up efforts to support the mental well-being of Singaporeans, in light of the stresses from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide integrated mental health services in a holistic way through a whole-of-Government approach, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary, as he outlined the key initiatives in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 9). KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the National University Hospital will increase their antenatal and postnatal mental health screening to more mothers. The Government will increase the community touchpoints for access to mental health services. It will better leverage health and social care settings for service delivery, and equip frontline workers with the skills to identify persons with mental health needs. The Government will also study a suggestion to set up a mental well-being office. More efforts will go into connecting like-minded individuals to engage citizens on mental well-being. The Health Promotion Board will expand the range of resources to include cyber wellness, depression and anxiety disorder. Planning has started to future-proof more hospital capacity for psychiatric services beyond the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). The National University Health System will set up psychiatric services at the redeveloped Alexandra Hospital. In addition, the National Addictions Management Service at IMH will be extended to other hospitals. To better support persons experiencing a mental health crisis such as self-harm, IMH has piloted a Crisis Response Team to respond to calls from the Singapore Police Force on cases of suicide attempts. MOH will be developing a new intermediate residential facility to support youths who are hospitalised for risk of suicide or severe self-harm and may require post-discharge residential care. Turning to polyclinics, Dr Janil said residents of Taman Jurong can look forward to a new polyclinic by 2028. The existing Queenstown Polyclinic will be redeveloped by the end of the decade.
Mental health care services will be made more accessible and delivered in many settings, as well as integrated into the community and general medical services. The Ministry of Health (MOH) is stepping up efforts to support the mental well-being of Singaporeans, in light of the stresses from the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide integrated mental health services in a holistic way through a whole-of-Government approach, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary, as he outlined the key initiatives in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 9). KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the National University Hospital will increase their antenatal and postnatal mental health screening to more mothers. The Government will increase the community touchpoints for access to mental health services. It will better leverage health and social care settings for service delivery, and equip frontline workers with the skills to identify persons with mental health needs. The Government will also study a suggestion to set up a mental well-being office. More efforts will go into connecting like-minded individuals to engage citizens on mental well-being. The Health Promotion Board will expand the range of resources to include cyber wellness, depression and anxiety disorder. Planning has started to future-proof more hospital capacity for psychiatric services beyond the Institute of Mental Health (IMH). The National University Health System will set up psychiatric services at the redeveloped Alexandra Hospital. In addition, the National Addictions Management Service at IMH will be extended to other hospitals. To better support persons experiencing a mental health crisis such as self-harm, IMH has piloted a Crisis Response Team to respond to calls from the Singapore Police Force on cases of suicide attempts. MOH will be developing a new intermediate residential facility to support youths who are hospitalised for risk of suicide or severe self-harm and may require post-discharge residential care. Turning to polyclinics, Dr Janil said residents of Taman Jurong can look forward to a new polyclinic by 2028. The existing Queenstown Polyclinic will be redeveloped by the end of the decade.
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