Bringing mental health care to the community
Mental health patients will be able to see GPs in a new plan that will cost Govt more than S$100m
04:46 AM Mar 08, 2012
Dr Amy Khor. TODAY FILE PHOTO
Singapore - A network of mental health care and support will be brought into the community, as the Government looks to make care more accessible and reduce stigma surrounding mental health patients.
Yesterday, Minister of State for Health Dr Amy Khor unveiled details of a new community-based mental health plan that will be integrated with primary care and long-term care services.
It will focus on a few areas: Services within the community, psychiatric intermediate and long-term care (ILTC) facilities, and public education.
Six specialist-led multi-disciplinary teams will be sited in the community by 2016, starting with the north and central regions. Up to 9,500 patients can be seen at any one time by the teams, and care will be integrated with primary care so they can see general practitioners (GPs) instead of going to the hospitals.
More specialised teams focusing on dementia patients will also be put in place, and counselling and psychotherapy services by GPs will be expanded. Mobile teams will also respond to potential crisis situations where intervention is needed.
A helpline to support community organisations such as Seniors Activity Centres and grassroots organisations will also be piloted. This will provide information on the range of services available. Such community-based services will cost the Government more than S$100 million over the next five years, said Dr Khor.
A Constituency Health Promotion Grant, which will plan, develop and implement health promoting activities for residents, will be piloted from next month.
Each constituency will be provided S$10,000 a year.
The capacity of memory clinics in public hospitals will be increased by about 60 per cent over the next five years to serve more dementia patients.
Over the same period, two new psychiatric nursing homes, one psychiatric rehabilitation home and two sheltered homes will be built - yielding 700 more beds adding to the current 1,000. This will cost about S$70 million.
With the increase in capacity, Dr Khor said more professionals will be needed. More psychiatrists will be trained - 15 a year, instead of the current five, over the next five years. Intake for clinical psychologists will also be increased to more than 20 a year by this year - through the National University of Singapore and James Cook University Singapore's postgraduate programmes, which will meet the projected national demand.
Dr Khor also spoke of the need to keep a check on the general health of Singaporeans, and unveiled steps to beef up screening programmes and limit trans-fat in foods.
A Women's Health Advisory Committee will be set up by Health Promotion Board to improve screening and follow-up rates among women.
The committee will also plan and implement a women's health programme to equip women of all ages with the know-how to improve their health. More than a million women over three years will be targeted.
Dr Khor also announced that trans fat will be limited to 2 grams per 100 grams product for fats and oils. This will be done for products supplied to eateries and food manufacturers here, and those sold in retail outlets.
Labelling of trans fat levels on packaging of retail fats and oils will be required. These amendments will be gazetted by Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority in May this year.
On traditional medicine, Dr Khor said the Health Sciences Authority is currently reviewing the need to implement a risk-based pre-market approval process.
