Anyone who seeks help for mental health challenges will get it: Janil

He lays out his vision of a whole-of-nation effort to enhance mental health, well-being

- joyce Teo

It could be a call or text message to a helpline, a question voiced in confidence to a school counsellor, or an exploratory visit to a polyclinic, but there will be no wrong door in seeking help for mental health challenges, said Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary.

As Singapore moves to implement a national mental healthcare strategy, consolidating and strengthening its resources at various levels of care, particularly in the community, everyone who needs support will be pointed to the right place to go, said Dr Janil.

"It shouldn't matter where (or who) you go to as long as it's someone you have the comfort with, someone that you have confidence sharing what can be a very difficult issue, someone whom you trust to have advice," he said.

"For some people, that will be a social worker, someone in a social service agency; it could be a general practitioner, a polyclinic, a counsellor (or) a colleague at work."

In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times, Dr Janil, who chaired the Interagency Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-being, laid out his vision of a whole-of-Singapore effort to enhance mental health and well-being.

A crucial part of the strategy is a tiered model of care that tailors mental healthcare for individuals according to the severity of their symptoms, and across health, social and education settings.

The four levels of support will range from promotion, self-help and peer support at Tier 1, to the most intensive level of care in hospitals and specialist clinics at Tier 4.

It will mean expanding services in primary care and community settings, strengthening the community, schools and workplaces to be on the alert for people who need help, and shoring up both acute and step-down care.