Mental Health Working Group Due to stigmatisation and lack of awareness, persons with mental illness often suffer from neglect, abuse and discrimination. Yet, with proper treatment, their condition can be improved. As a Singaporean, I am glad to see that the government is recognising the importance of mental health and injecting more resources to meet the needs of persons with mental illness. The year 2007 marked a change in Singapore’s commitment towards mental health when the first National Mental Health Policy and Blueprint was formulated. The Blueprint aims to promote mental health and improve the lives of persons with mental illness and their caregivers through reforming the mental healthcare system. The shift from institutional care to community mental health care has supported persons with mental illness to be re-integrated into the society and able to live independent and fulfilling lives as any other individual. In 2007, I joined the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) and was given an opportunity to work on mental health projects. In support of the implementation of the Blueprint, NCSS is committed in its efforts to strengthen the mental health sector through its role as an enabler and funder. One of such initiatives was the set up of the Mental Health Working Group which brought together like-minded leaders who have a deep passion to help persons with mental illness. The Mental Health Working Group started off as an informal conversation among NCSS, Mr Hsieh Fu Hua (founder of BinjaiTree) and Mr Keith Chua (Chairman of the Singapore Anglican Community Services (SACS)’s Management Committee). In 2009, the working group was convened to brainstorm ideas and strategise forward plans to complement the Blueprint and enhance mental health services. The mental health working group fosters close partnership between the health and social sector, facilitates collaboration among the service providers and builds capabilities of the mental health players. New members from the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Agency for Integrated Care and Singapore Association for Mental Health were introduced into the working group in 2010 and 2011 subsequently. Some of the initiatives of this working group include ongoing efforts to work with MOH to develop a service planning map; the enhancement of the capabilities of organisations such as the Singapore Buddhist Federation through mental health training by IMH; and enhanced caregiver support such as the development of the caregivers’ guidebook by the Caregivers’ Association of the Mentally Ill to inform the caregivers of available resources and coping strategies, and the establishment of the Caregivers Alliance Limited, a dedicated caregiver centre that provides training and support services to caregivers of persons with mental illness. It has been very heartening to see different stakeholders coming together, each offering their unique expertise, contributing towards a common goal to improve the lives of persons with mental illness. I am confident that this multi-stakeholders collaboration will continue to spark off new ideas and development to the mental health sector.
