Rahayu Mahzam on advancing mental health
An intermediate residential facility will be developed to support youths who are at risk of suicide or severe self-harm. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam, who announced this in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 7), pointed out that not all youths with suicidal behaviour suffer from mental health conditions. Instead, they may have experienced social stressors, such as difficulties coping with schoolwork and bullying. This facility will cater for this group of youths, between 10 and 19 years old. They will be supported by a multi-disciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses and live-in care staff. The team will identify the needs of youths in crisis, provide psychosocial interventions, such as counselling and medical attention. Turning to manpower for mental health care, Ms Rahayu said as of 2022, there were 203 registered psychiatrists and 212 psychologists in the public sector. The Government aims to increase the number of psychiatrists by about 30 per cent to 260, and the number of psychologists by about 40 per cent to 300 by 2030. However, solely increasing the number of psychiatrists and psychologists is insufficient and unsustainable, she said. This is one of the reasons why the Government developed the tiered care model to provide timely care in the community and allow psychiatrists and psychologists to focus on patients with more complex mental health needs. Ms Rahayu stressed that the cornerstone of Singapore’s national mental health well-being strategy is the tiered care model, with different care levels depending on the intensity of interventions to provide the right care at the right time based on the individual’s needs. She said existing studies suggest that a tiered model of mental health care delivery, where mental health care can be easily accessible in community settings, is a better approach compared with concentrating services in hospital settings. On concerns raised over the lack of access to private insurance for persons with mental health conditions, Ms Rahayu said the Ministry of Health and Monetary Authority of Singapore will act against insurers who breach the rules. They will review this issue and improve private insurance coverage for mental health.
An intermediate residential facility will be developed to support youths who are at risk of suicide or severe self-harm. Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam, who announced this in Parliament on Wednesday (Feb 7), pointed out that not all youths with suicidal behaviour suffer from mental health conditions. Instead, they may have experienced social stressors, such as difficulties coping with schoolwork and bullying. This facility will cater for this group of youths, between 10 and 19 years old. They will be supported by a multi-disciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses and live-in care staff. The team will identify the needs of youths in crisis, provide psychosocial interventions, such as counselling and medical attention. Turning to manpower for mental health care, Ms Rahayu said as of 2022, there were 203 registered psychiatrists and 212 psychologists in the public sector. The Government aims to increase the number of psychiatrists by about 30 per cent to 260, and the number of psychologists by about 40 per cent to 300 by 2030. However, solely increasing the number of psychiatrists and psychologists is insufficient and unsustainable, she said. This is one of the reasons why the Government developed the tiered care model to provide timely care in the community and allow psychiatrists and psychologists to focus on patients with more complex mental health needs. Ms Rahayu stressed that the cornerstone of Singapore’s national mental health well-being strategy is the tiered care model, with different care levels depending on the intensity of interventions to provide the right care at the right time based on the individual’s needs. She said existing studies suggest that a tiered model of mental health care delivery, where mental health care can be easily accessible in community settings, is a better approach compared with concentrating services in hospital settings. On concerns raised over the lack of access to private insurance for persons with mental health conditions, Ms Rahayu said the Ministry of Health and Monetary Authority of Singapore will act against insurers who breach the rules. They will review this issue and improve private insurance coverage for mental health.
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