Mental Health

18 Oct 2010

Question No:  590   

Question

Name of the Person: Mdm Halimah Yacob

To ask the Minister for Health (a) if he will give an assessment of the state of mental health in Singapore; (b) whether the Ministry keeps statistics on the number of people who are seeking treatment for mental health problems in Singapore by age group, gender, educational level, race and occupation; and (c) if he will give an update on the measures taken to improve mental health in Singapore.

Reply

Reply From MOH

1. The prevalence of mental illnesses in Singapore is comparable to that in other developed countries. Let me illustrate with two common mental disorders: schizophrenia and anxiety disorder. 

2. The life-time prevalence of schizophrenia is estimated at below 1% in most countries. Ours is similar, at 0.7%.  As for anxiety disorder, our prevalence is 3.4%.  This is similar to our Asian counterparts, like Beijing of 3.2% and Japan of 5.3% .  The west, however, appears to experience a higher rate of prevalence, from about 6% in Germany, to 12% in France to 18% in the USA.

3. In terms of patient load, we served 18,300 new outpatients last year in our public psychiatric clinics.  This was an increase of 700 new patients as compared to the previous year.  On the inpatient side, there were 10,800 admissions last year, similar to the previous year.

4. We have some basic demographic statistics on the mentally ill patients. But we are conducting a more detailed nation-wide epidemiological study, to gather more data.  We call it the Singapore Mental Health Study and we expect to complete it in a few months’ time. It should provide us with valuable insights.  For example, what are the help-seeking behaviours of patients with mental illnesses?  What is the social and economic impact of mental disorders in Singapore?  This will provide a more complete picture of the state of mental health in Singapore.

5. Meanwhile, we continue to invest in this sector.  I have shared our plans in this House in March this year.  I do not propose to repeat them.

6. Just to give one illustration, a significant portion of our investment is to expand community-based psychiatric services and capabilities. We are now supporting each patient with a serious mental illness with a case manager. This way, we can better ensure the discharged patients will comply with their treatment, and have access to the rehabilitation services that they need.

7. We are also roping in more GPs to help, through the shared care programme with public hospitals.  This will be more convenient for the patients, and some patients may also be more willing to seek treatment there. That is why we are extending portable subsidy via the Primary Care Partnership Scheme (PCPS) to the common mental conditions of schizophrenia and major depression.

8. Overall, in terms of prevention, control and treatment programmes, we have made some progress in recent years.  But we know that much more lies ahead and we must continue to work on this area.