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NOTICE PAPERS NO. 1951
NOTICE OF QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 3 JULY 2023
Name and Constituency of Member of ParliamentMs Ng Ling LingMP for Ang Mo Kio GRC
Question No. 4646
To ask the Minister for Health in view that more than 24,000 individuals have pre-enrolled for Healthier SG programme during the pre-enrolment exercise for Singaporeans aged 40 and above with chronic conditions, whether the Ministry will consider extending the Healthier SG enrolment to include Singaporeans aged 40 and above when Healthier SG is officially launched on 5 July 2023.
NOTICE PAPERS NO. 1949
NOTICE OF QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 3 JULY 2023
Name and Constituency of Member of ParliamentDr Wan RizalMP for Jalan Besar GRC
Question No. 4641
To ask the Minister for Health in light of the Government’s intention to include mental health under the Healthier SG initiative, whether the Ministry will consider providing subventions for citizens in need of community counselling, particularly in addressing issues such as caregiver stress.
NOTICE PAPERS NO. 1947
NOTICE OF QUESTIONS FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON OR AFTER 4 JULY 2023
Name and Constituency of Member of ParliamentDr Lim Wee KiakMP for Sembawang GRC
Question No. 4640
To ask the Minister for Health whether the Government will consider having annual health reports made available for all individuals who enrol in Healthier SG.
Answer
Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to answer the next two PQs together? My response will also cover the matters raised in the question by Dr Lim Wee Kiat which are scheduled for a subsequent sitting. Dr Lim is not here but I hope he gets to read my answer and if it answers his question, he may want to withdraw his question for future sitting.
We started a Healthier SG pre-enrolment exercise in May this year, so that residents aged 40 and above with chronic care needs can continue to be cared for by their regular GP clinics. So far, over 47,000 of these residents have been pre-enrolled, so response has been encouraging.
We are commencing national Healthier SG enrolment from 5 July this year. We will need to do this in phases, to manage the workload of our GP clinics and polyclinics, and ensure that residents have a positive experience when they enroll to Healthier SG. We will prioritise those with chronic conditions, followed by those aged 60 and above. We hope to extend this to residents aged 40-59 sometime next year.
In providing care to residents with chronic conditions under Healthier SG, family doctors will be guided by care protocols. We have so far developed twelve such protocols, every one of them requires significant consultation, coordination, preparation, as well as training. We will expand the coverage and intend to cover mental health in due course.
In any case, Healthier SG is not the only avenue to care for residents experiencing mental health issues. Under the Community Mental Health Masterplan, we work with social service agencies to set up community outreach and intervention teams to support persons with mental health needs, as well as their caregivers. This includes educating caregivers on stress management and self-care, linking them with counselling services and support groups when needed. MOH provides full funding to these teams and residents can access their services and support at no cost.
As Healthier SG is progressively rolled out and stabilised, it is possible for residents to receive annual health reports as suggested by Dr Lim Wee Kiat. With Healthier SG, enrolled residents will have access to a personalised Health Plan via their HealthHub mobile application or the web portal. If the resident is diligent with his health screening, he will also have access via HealthHub to his latest health screening results. We will monitor the usage of these information on HealthHub and explore how we can further enhance it to support residents’ health journeys.