Ratio of Mental Health Professionals to Resident Population

Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the current ratio of mental health professionals to resident population in Singapore; and (b) what is an optimal ratio.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Currently, there are 254 1 psychiatrists registered with the Singapore Medical Council and 504 2 psychologists on the Singapore Psychological Society register. This works out to be 4.5 psychiatrists and 8.9 psychologists per 100,000 population.

There is no international consensus on the optimal ratio of psychiatrists and psychologists to population. MOH will continue to work with stakeholders and agencies, such as MOE and MSF, to assess the need and monitor the number of mental health professionals to ensure appropriate access to and quality of mental health services.

Note(s) to Question No(s) 82:

1 Source: SMC 2019 Annual Report.

2 Source: Singapore Register of Psychologists, maintained by the Singapore Psychological Society.