Consolidating and Coordinating Suicide Data to Formulate Targeted Support

103 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health (a) what steps are taken by the National Mental Health Office to better consolidate and coordinate data relating to suicide statistics in order to formulate more targeted protective support for those at risk; (b) whether a national suicide prevention strategy will be developed to ensure our suicide prevention efforts support all segments; and (c) if so, when.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: We adopt a whole-of-society strategy to address the issue of suicides. We have run public education campaigns to address stigma and normalise help-seeking; trained peer supporters and frontline personnel to identify and support those in crises; and built up resilience among our youths through school-based programmes. More recently, we implemented the national mindline 1771 to provide 24/7 access for those in distress.

The National Mental Health and Well-being Strategy, launched by the Interagency Taskforce on Mental Health and Well-being in October 2023, supports all segments of our population via a Tiered Care Model based on severity of mental health needs and the corresponding intensity of interventions required. We will continue to review the effectiveness of our measures.