Measures to Tackle Emotional Distress and Depression

Mr Laurence Lien asked the Minister for Health in light of the steady rise in the number of attempted suicides over the past five years, whether there is a need for a more concerted effort to tackle rising levels of emotional distress and depression among Singaporeans.

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According to police records, the number of attempted suicide increased from 706 in 2007 to 992 in 2011, or an increase from 15.4 to 19.1 per 100,000 total population.

The corresponding figures for completed suicides (based on death records) show a decline from 8.2 per 100,000 residents to 6.7 over the same period, after adjusting for the changing age distribution of the population over the years.

The Government adopts a multi-pronged strategy to suicide prevention, which includes collaborative efforts from different agencies, such as MCYS, MOE, MHA, MOH and stakeholders in the social sectors. The broad approaches involve (a) building greater resilience in the population; (b) developing targeted interventions for high-risk individuals, and; (c) increasing public awareness of mental health issues.

Students are taught to set realistic and achievable goals for themselves, build positive and healthy relationships with others, and to seek help when necessary. For the elderly, social support is a key element in the prevention of suicides, and this is provided through community services, such as counselling and befriending.

Hospitals provide crisis interventions for patients who have attempted suicide. They aim to reduce the risk of identified suicide attempters through (i) elimination of acute suicide danger (for example, hospitalisation, sedation, crisis-intervention); (ii) adequate treatment (for example, pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy); (iii) provision of follow-up care of those with high suicide risk; and (iv) counselling and support groups for patients both within the hospital and community settings.

As part of the multi-agency effort under the National Mental Health Blueprint, there have been enhanced efforts to increase public awareness of mental health and improve access to counselling and other support. For example, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) conducts various mental health promotion and education programmes to promote mental wellbeing among children, adults and seniors, enable them with coping skills, facilitate early detection and treatment, as well as share information on how to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental illness. In 2011, more than 40 initiatives and activities were organised in schools, workplaces and community settings, reaching out to some 170,000 students and members of the public.

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Access to mental health services in the community has also improved. For instance, IMH's community mental health teams (CMHTs) provide psycho-social rehabilitation for stable patients in the community. CMHT also operates a Mobile Crisis Team which comprises a 24-hour hotline giving information and advice, and a Home Visit team that can help to de-escalate stressful situations that patients face in their homes. The GP Partnership programme helps GPs better manage persons with mental illness in the community.