by MP for Aljunied GRC, Low Thia Khiang
Chairman Sir,
1. Mental illness is a condition that not only affects the individual and family but also the community.
2. I believe that mental illness will increasingly become an issue for Singapore in our highly competitive environment. Because of the strong stigma against mental illness, it may be difficult to ascertain the actual prevalence of mental illness in Singapore. The government should conduct a study to get a better understanding.
3. We need to look at how we can manage mental illness in the community, for example, what support is needed for the patients and their families and how to ensure that those with mental illness will not become a problem and affect life in the community such as throwing things out from the windows, shouting at neighbours and having unacceptable social behaviour.
4. The treatment of most mental illness often require counseling, social interventions as well as medications. As such, there is a need for an integrated and holistic approach between the social service sector and medical sector.
5. However at the moment, MOH and MCYS, which provide different services to patients with mental illness, operate separately. Can the services be centralized so that we have a one-stop service to provide better-integrated care for the patient?
6. In developed countries like Australia, US and UK, they have 10 to 15 psychiatrists per hundred thousand population. I understand that there are less than 200 registered psychiatrists in Singapore with a population of 5 million people. We would certainly need to increase the number of our mental healthcare professionals.
7. Importing foreign doctors in this area is not a solution. They will not be able to function well if they cannot speak the language or understand our culture.
8. I would like to know what MOH can do to increase the number of our mental health professionals?