Reply by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen to Parliamentary Questions on Management of Servicemen with Mental Health Disorders

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: To ask the Minister for Defence (a) what are the strategies utilised for screening of mental health disorders in national service recruits; and (b) what is being offered in terms of management and counselling for those in the SAF, navy and air force who already have a mental health disorder.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Madam Speaker, the spectrum of mental health disorders within any given population can vary considerably in severity, and because our national servicemen are drawn from the general population, this is also true for national servicemen with mental health disorders. Further, for the affected individual, if he has a mental condition, that condition may not be static and could worsen or improve over time. So MINDEF's approach for national servicemen with mental health disorders takes into account this variability; variability of conditions across different individuals, the variability of an individual who has the condition over time. And only those who are assessed professionally to be able to perform his National Service (NS) duties are enlisted.

Before enlistment, all pre-enlistees are screened by Medical Officers for psychiatric, behavioural and adjustment problems. The screening guidelines are established by the SAF Psychiatry Specialist Advisory Board, and this comprises senior psychiatrists drawn from private practice and public hospitals. Pre-enlistees with severe mental illnesses who are unable to perform NS duties are exempted from NS. And in the last 3 years, about 500 were exempted from NS because they had this condition, annually, due to mental health problems. 500 annually.

For those enlisted, we want to ensure that national servicemen with mental health disorders pose no risk to themselves and those around them. They are monitored while they are serving NS. To protect their medical confidentiality, only the Commanders and the Medical Officers who monitor their progress are notified about their conditions. Should they require closer observation, these national servicemen are seen regularly by psychiatrists at the Psychological Care Centre.

Any time there is doubt whether the national servicemen can perform his duties or about safety risks, this individual is again assessed by the Psychiatrist and could be re-deployed to a more suitable vocation or excused from his NS duties.

I have spoken about a specific regime which the Member has asked for. But in addition to this specific regime for those with known mental health disorders, the SAF also educates trainees in Officer Cadet School and Specialist Cadet School. We give them basic counselling and mental health awareness programmes. This is to help our Commanders better identify fellow soldiers with mental health issues. Soldiers with mental health issues can be referred to the Psychological Care Centre. The Member asked also what other avenues there are. There is also a 24-hour SAF Counselling Hotline, which soldiers can call, whether they themselves or others call them, whenever they need help.

Our approach towards national servicemen with mental health disorders ensures that they are not discriminated against or stigmatised if they are able to perform NS safely. They are treated similarly with national servicemen who have other physical health disorders, where risks are also managed accordingly based on the guidelines, again, developed by Specialist Medical Boards. The risks from their medical conditions, whether physical or mental, will exist even when they are not performing NS. Under our present regime, there have been many national servicemen with mental health disorders who have completed their NS duties well. MINDEF and the SAF will continue to periodically review and strengthen the mental health system, in consultation with the Psychiatry Specialist Advisory Board, to ensure that all our national servicemen with medical conditions receive good care during NS.