Debated in Parliament on 15 Oct 2025.
Dr Wan Rizal asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health for each of the last five years and in respect of public child and adolescent mental health services, what is the (i) the median and 90th-percentile wait times from referral to first appointment (ii) referral sources (iii) staffing ratios and vacancies and (iv) no-show rates and re-engagement actions taken.
All referrals to specialist mental health services at the National University Hospital (NUH) and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) are triaged. Those requiring more urgent specialist assessment and/or treatment are given earlier appointments or are referred to the Emergency Services for review on the same day. The median times for specialist child and adolescent mental health services, based on available data in NUH and IMH, were 34 days in 2020 and 26 days in 2024. The 90th to 95th percentile wait times were 94 days in 2020 and 84 days in 2024.
Majority of referrals come from the public healthcare system, mainly polyclinics, in 2024. Other referral sources include general practitioners and community mental health services.
Our public child and adolescent mental health services employ multidisciplinary teams including nurses, allied health professionals and psychiatrists. Each psychiatrist sees between 1,300 to 1,500 outpatient attendances per year. So far, staffing has been stable.
No-show rates have decreased from about 22% in 2020 to 14% in 2024. Various re-engagement actions have been taken including pre-appointment confirmation calls and telephone follow-ups for missed appointments.
PAPERCUTS