COST IS STILL A BARRIER TO QUALITY MENTAL HEALTHCARE
With an adult resident population of about 2.7 million in 2022, this potentially translates to a treatment gap of more than 103,000 adult residents forgoingIt’s no surprise therefore that in the 2021 AreWeOkay public consultation by SG Mental Health Matters, the team found a high consensus amongst the 561 respondents around cost being a barrier to mental healthcare access; 78.
The longer it takes for someone to receive help, the more difficult their recovery can be. Delays in treatment time can cause other serious consequences too, such as limiting social and occupational opportunities, and increasing the risk of depression and substance use challenges. In the community, there were 491 registered counsellors and clinical supervisors with the Singapore Association for Counselling as of February 2022, which translates to 8.6 counsellors per 100,000 population but some of these counsellors might have already been included in the ratio of psychologists.
Increasing funding for and expanding the use of MediSave monies for consultation at government-funded community mental health agencies such as Samaritans of Singapore, Caregivers Alliance and Shan You Counselling may help to lighten the load on our public healthcare institutions. Teleconsultation and digital mental health are also helping to meet increasing demand., Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has committed to it being included in the future. I hope this will be sooner rather than later.