Oral Reply by Senior Minister of State for Defence Heng Chee How to Parliamentary Question on Mental Health Support in the SAF on 7 Mar 2024

Mr Desmond Choo: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what efforts have been taken to address mental health issues affecting national servicemen; and (b) what are the plans to strengthen mental health support in the Singapore Armed Forces.

Dr Wan Rizal: To ask the Minister for Defence what are the recent steps taken by the Ministry to improve the mental health and well-being of (a) Full-time National Servicemen and (b) Operationally Ready National Servicemen.

Senior Minister of State for Defence, Heng Chee How:

Over the past 5 years, the proportion of pre-enlistees detected to have mental health issues jumped from 6% in 2019 to 11% in 2023, although the majority have mild to moderate conditions. This is in line with the increasing prevalence of mental health issues at the national level.

To deal with this rising trend, MINDEF and the SAF reviewed our overall system and instituted a slew of measures to better support psychological and psychiatric conditions of our Full-Time National Servicemen (NSFs) and regulars. We have doubled the number of full-time mental health professionals in MINDEF and SAF – 80, today, up from about 40 a decade ago.

The increase in professional expertise is necessary and the SAF will hire more if needed. But other measures are also needed to meet these rising demands.

The prevailing practice to screen for mental health issues among pre-enlistees continues, so that they can receive professional help and treatment. Severe cases that pose harm to themselves and/or to others are deferred from NS until the professionals assess that their conditions have improved and no longer pose those risks. For NSFs with mild and even moderate conditions but are assessed by our professionals to be able to serve in selected vocations, they will receive additional monitoring while in service. These assessments and determinations are performed by our in-house professionals, guided by the advice of the SAF Psychiatry Specialist Advisory Board. This is an external panel comprising senior psychiatrists from our national healthcare system.

The SAF recognises that mental health issues can surface later, even when not picked up at pre-enlistment. Therefore, we have increased our mental health support over the years, particularly during Basic Military Training, or BMT. New Care Hubs have been set up in Pulau Tekong in 2022 and Kranji Camp in 2020, where BMT is conducted. These Care Hubs comprise medical doctors, psychologists, counsellors and orientation officers, working closely together with commanders to provide mental health support to servicemen during their transition into NS.

But all of us are also aware that signs of mental distress can be subtle and often it is those who we spend most time around who can pick it up. Therefore, for BMT, all recruits also undergo psychological first aid training to help them to recognise distress signs, cope with challenges, exercise self-care and provide support for their buddies whom they are paired with.

Beyond self-help, our commanders interview BMT recruits regularly to identify potential problems and render assistance. Training is provided to our commanders to recognise mental health issues and distress. However, there may be recruits who are not comfortable to share their problems openly – there is an anonymous 24-hr SAF counselling hotline that they can call.

NSFs detected with mental health conditions are closely monitored by a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and medical officers during BMT and beyond. Should their conditions worsen during NS to the extent that they pose a danger to themselves or others, their NS duties may be suspended till they become better or for some, indefinitely.

Our approach to mental health also includes prevention to promote mental well-being. Well-being campaigns target both NSFs and regulars to promote effective self-care, strengthen coping skills, and better recognition of mental health issues. Reactions have been positive and service personnel are more open to discuss mental health issues and seek help.

To co-ordinate all these efforts, a MINDEF/SAF Mental Health Office was set up in December 2022. It consolidates our mental health professionals under one roof to better synergise and deliver care. This office also works with the other Ministries and their efforts, which my colleagues have touched on at the parliamentary motion debate on advancing mental health on Feb 7. We understand that mental health is a national challenge. MINDEF recognises that we need soldiers who are both healthy physically and mentally for a strong defence. To this end, MINDEF and the SAF will work with other agencies to improve Mental Health and Well-Being for our NSFs and regulars.