Measures to Prevent Elderly Suicide and Isolation

Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for Health whether any new and additional measures will be taken to (i) address the increase in elderly suicides and (ii) prevent or minimise elderly isolation.

While the number of elderly suicides has increased in recent years along with our ageing population, the suicide death rates among our elderly have, in fact, declined over the past decade. The suicide rate among Singapore residents aged 60 and above fell from 22.4 per 100,000 residents in 2007 to 16.4 in 2017.

However, each suicide is one too many. Government agencies and partners in the health and social sectors work together to prevent suicides by promoting upstream prevention, proactively reaching out to pre-empt social isolation and providing support to those at-risk.

Prevention. First, in the area of prevention, it is important to build mental resilience in our population, increase awareness of the importance of good well-being and share information on available community resources for mental health support. For example, the National Council of Social Service recently launched a new Mental Health Public Education Campaign that aims to destigmatise mental health issues and encourage help-seeking behaviour. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) helps older adults learn more about mental well-being and resilience through the National Seniors' Health Programme in the community and at workplaces.

Proactive Outreach and Support. Second, we need programmes to pre-empt social isolation, especially for seniors who live alone or have weak social support. For example, we are building communities of care through the Community Networks for Seniors (CNS), which will be progressively expanded to achieve nationwide coverage by 2020. CNS will connect seniors, identified by the Silver Generation Ambassadors, who are single or live alone to a befriender. To date, there are over 1,000 befrienders serving more than 3,200 seniors. This complements the efforts of Senior Activity Centres that reach out to seniors in the community. Seniors living alone can also be referred to "Care Line", a pilot one-stop 24/7 hotline that provides tele-befriending services to those with medical or emotional conditions or facing difficulties in coping. Over 2,100 seniors have enrolled with Care Line to date. We plan to expand Care Line nationwide to reach out to more seniors across Singapore through partnerships with CNS and other community partners.

Identifying At-risk Seniors. Third, we have established services and programmes to support seniors identified to be at higher risk of suicide. The Agency for Integrated Care’s (AIC’s) Community Resource, Engagement and Support Teams (CREST) programme reaches out to seniors at risk of dementia or depression and teaches them and their caregivers basic socio-emotional skills and coping strategies, including where to seek help if needed. Seniors with mild to moderate depression may be referred to counselling and therapy services. Family Service Centres (FSCs) also provide counselling and support services to families with seniors to help them with relationship problems, as well as financial and emotional difficulties.

Crisis Interventions. Lastly, services are in place to support persons facing a crisis and who require urgent assistance. The Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) operates a 24-hour hotline to counsel persons in distress. Similarly, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) operates a 24-hour Mental Health Helpline to assess and triage cases and activate home visit teams if necessary. For cases of attempted suicide, the Police may engage the next-of-kin to link them up with support or refer the individual to IMH for an assessment and treatment, if needed.

The causes of suicide are complex and multifaceted. An interaction of factors, such as family, social and mental health issues, may sometimes trigger suicidal behaviour. Individuals, the community and the Government can all play a part in identifying and caring for seniors who may exhibit signs of distress or require emotional support. We will continue to strengthen our interagency and multi-pronged efforts.