Progress on Project E-learning Mental Health First Aid Programme

3 Ms Anthea Ong asked the Minister for Health (a) how many persons have been trained and certified on the Project E-learning Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) programme since its launch in May 2017; (b) what is the profile of these participants; (c) how many of these certified participants on the central registry have been mobilised in 2017 and 2018 respectively; and (d) what type of cases have they been mobilised for.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: The e-Learning Mental Health First Aid (Singapore) [MHFA(S)] was developed by Changi General Hospital (CGH) with funding from Temasek Foundation Cares to make mental health literacy more accessible through blended learning, that is, online learning with a half-day face-to-face practical session.

As of November 2018, over 900 individuals from 26 organisations have attended this e-learning initiative. Of these, 94% (or more than 800) of the participants were certified by the MHFA(S) to have the knowledge to provide initial help to a person developing a mental health problem or in a mental health crisis until appropriate professional treatment is received or until the crisis resolves. The participants, who completed online and practical sessions, were mainly from government agencies, social organisations, educational institutions, grassroots organisations, and faith-based groups.

While we do not have information regarding the activities of the trained participants, from informal feedback, CGH understands that their skills have been utilised to support their friends, co-workers and family members with mental health conditions.