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Source:
www.imh.com.sg |
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BETTER SERVICES AT IMH’S UPGRADED
INPATIENT CHILDREN PSYCHIATRIC WARD |
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Singapore’s only children psychiatric ward at the
Institute of Mental Health/Woodbridge Hospital (IMH) has been upgraded and now
offers better services to meet the needs of young patients. |
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Mr Chan Soo Sen, Patron of IMH’s Woodbridge
Hospital Endowment Fund and Minister of State for Education, graced the
official opening of the new ward, named Child Guidance Clinic – Sunrise Wing,
in a ceremony at IMH on Wednesday, 4 May 2005. |
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The children’s ward at IMH/WH dates back to 1993
when it began accepting inpatients from IMH’s Department of Child and
Adolescent Psychiatry. Since then, the ward has been admitting an average of
200 children a year. |
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Patients are first assessed by child psychiatrists
at IMH’s Child Guidance Clinic located at the Health Promotion Board Building.
Those who require inpatient treatment are then referred to the Child Guidance
Clinic – Sunrise Wing. |
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Outpatient attendance for children and adolescents
had risen slightly from 10,089 in 2002 to 10,946 in 2004. The number of new
patients seen had similarly rose from 2,035 patients in 2002 to 2,106 patients
in 2004. |
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The old children’s ward was rather spartan as
nothing much was done since its opening in 1993. In April 2004, Jardine Cycle
& Carriage donated $600,000 to the WH Endowment Fund. $300,000 from that
donation was set aside to upgrade the children’s ward into a new 20-bed ward. |
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With the upgrading, IMH/WH is now better able to
meet the needs of its young patients. For instance, patients with similar
acuity can now be segregated so that care can be optimised for each group. |
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An outdoor rehabilitation facility has been added
and the ward made more attractive and hospitable to children and youths. The
24-hour medically supervised ward now offers a more cheery and conducive
environment for patients. |
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Patients admitted to the Child Guidance Clinic –
Sunrise Wing are usually made up of young people who exhibit some or all of
the following: |
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- suicidal behaviour or thoughts,
- aggressive behaviour towards others or property,
- behaviour that put youngsters at risk, such as running away
or sexual promiscuity,
- impaired view of reality or bizarre behaviour,
- extreme social withdrawal including school refusal,
- opposition, defiant behaviour beyond the control of adults
at home or in school,
- severe non-compliance with medical treatment |
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The average length of stay for children or
adolescents is about 14 days. Treatment involves multi-disciplinary (namely
psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, nurses,
etc) evaluation and intervention. |
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Out of the nearly 200 patients admitted in 2004,
the most common types of mental disorders were Situational Reaction, followed
by Depression, Behavioural Problems and Psychosis. |
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"Mental Health is part of the overall well -being
of a child and adolescent. It is not a moral failure or character weakness
when a child or adolescent has mental health problems but early recognition of
symptoms and interventions will help the child or adolescent cope better. The
Child Guidance Clinic - Sunrise Wing offers an aspect of such interventions
for serious mental health problems,” said Dr Daniel Fung[1], Deputy
Chief, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Mental
Health and Consultant Psychiatrist, Child Guidance Clinic. |
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Currently, IMH is the only hospital in Singapore
with an inpatient children’s ward designed to treat and care for young
patients up to the age of 18 with mental health disorders. |
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In the next phase of upgrading, an outpatient
Child Guidance Clinic will be sited within the ward to offer one-stop
integrated mental health services to patients. Patients can also be followed
up in the same facility as an outpatient upon discharge. Ward-based
educational intervention will be introduced to cater to the needs of
inpatients as well as outpatients on day treatment programmes who are not
ready to return to school. |
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Note: |
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[1]
Dr Daniel Fung is the Deputy Chief, Department of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health and a Consultant Psychiatrist with the
Child Guidance Clinic, Singapore. He has a special interest in emotional
disorders and developmental disorders (including learning disorders and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in children and youths. |
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Source:
Institute of Mental Health Press Release 4
May 2005 |
IMH upgrades inpatient children psychiatric ward
