Singapore – Mental health support in primary care is expanding here, with the number of general practitioners (GPs) with access to low-cost psychiatric medications and support networks to manage complex mental health conditions rising to more than 630 by the end of 2025.
This number is up from more than 520 the previous year, according to Ministry of Health (MOH) data.
These doctors are part of the Mental Health General Practitioner Partnership (MHGPP) programme, which was launched in 2012 to help GPs identify, diagnose and manage patients with more complex mental health conditions.
At the same time, 23 of the 28 polyclinics provide mental health services. A Ministry of Health spokesperson said it expected all general hospitals to offer similar services over the next three years. The plan is to expand the polyclinic network to 32 by 2030.
This growth is part of the National Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy to make care more accessible in communities.
The majority of participating general practitioners are from clinics under Singapore’s preventive healthcare initiative, Healthier SG. The organization supports these primary care physicians with evidence-based guidance and information about community resources for patient care.
From January 1, 2026, MOH has introduced the following care protocols: Major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.
The protocol guides GPs in identifying and managing patients, including referring patients to GP pair partners, such as community intervention teams (COMITs), for non-pharmacological treatments such as counseling and psychotherapy.
For more urgent and severe mental health needs, MHGPP physicians also have access to psychiatrist-led assessments and collaborative care teams. (Ascut)you can decide if your hospital needs expedited service.
Dr Jonathan Yeoh, of Chinatown Family Medicine Clinic, said that previously most general practitioners and family doctors would have assessed a patient’s condition before prescribing appropriate medication, and would only refer patients to a psychiatrist if the condition was complex or there was a risk of self-harm.
With the introduction of new protocols, primary care providers now have a roadmap for holistic care.
In addition to educating patients on common lifestyle measures and prescribing medications when needed, these physicians can now refer patients to supportive counseling, psychoeducation, and psychotherapy from allied health professionals, Dr. Yeo said.
The community mental health team here is fully funded by the government and there are no out-of-pocket costs for patients.
These allied health professionals can work with physicians to manage patients by assessing, for example, whether they need social interventions to address underlying issues, psychotherapy to treat dysfunctional thinking and behavior patterns, or counseling to cope with life changes, she added.
Without the new treatment protocol, one of Dr. Yeo’s recent patients, who had been suffering from symptoms of depression for some time, would have been rated as mildly depressed based on the patient’s score on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. This screening tool requires patients to answer how often they have experienced nine core symptoms of depression in the past two weeks.
However, Dr Yeo says: This led to a rediagnosis of moderate major depressive disorder.
Additionally, the use of the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale as part of the protocol helped determine that the patient was at low risk for suicide.
“The patient chose to continue his follow-up with me. Because I also have post-graduate training in mental health…I felt comfortable continuing to provide care to this patient despite the moderate severity,” he said.
Kenneth Tan, a family medicine specialist at Kenneth Tan Medical Clinic, said many people research their condition and treatment options before seeing a doctor, so the guide helps patients discuss their options.
“Using the new protocols, we can provide them with psychological advice, connect them with local mental health services or consider a referral to Allkin Singapore, the COMIT team that pairs them with me,” Dr Tan said.
“The COMIT team keeps me updated on whether the referral was successful or not, and I am able to follow up with the patient to see if psychosocial interventions are working or if I need to consider starting medication.
“Many patients actually improve their symptom assessment scores through this approach.”
Dr Tan said his patients are often surprised to learn that he can create a mental health plan that includes referrals to school or company counselors, private mental health services, free COMIT services or tertiary hospitals.
The CHAS subsidy and Medisave are available to Pioneer Generation, Merdeka Generation and CHAS cardholders seeking care at MHGPP GP clinics for mental health conditions under the Chronic Disease Management Programme.
Members of the public can use it to find local mental health and dementia services near them. Mental Health Finder.
If your clinic is part of Healthy SG, these cardholders can also receive enhanced subsidies for certain chronic medications.
MOH said it is currently considering the need to develop care protocols for other mental health conditions in the future.
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