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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Fewer long-term patients at IMH
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Doctors say new drugs and treatment methods have raised standards of care </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent
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IMH's new $400,000 high-dependency psychiatric unit, which was opened officially yesterday, allows for the better care and monitoring of violent patients. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MODERN techniques in mental-health care and better drugs could make long-term patients of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) a thing of the past.
Today, only 10 to 20 new patients a year end up as long-term stayers, said Dr Chua Hong Choon, a senior consultant at IMH, unlike the 1,200 'permanent residents' who have been there for decades.
The vast majority, even if they cannot be cured, are well enough to rejoin society after a short stay for treatment, he said. They form the 400 transient patients at IMH.
Dr Chua said this improvement comes from more powerful medicines that work faster and have fewer side effects, and from varied and more effective treatments, now that more is understood of such illnesses.
He added that staff are better trained to spot tell-tale signs of patients about to flare up - such as shoving a table, secluding themselves in a corner, or talking to themselves.
Often, early intervention can deflect pent-up anger or feelings of aggression. It might need nothing more than talking to the patient, turning his mind to something else, or even 'bargaining' with him, said Dr Chua.
A patient who suddenly demands to go home and gets angry when told he cannot, might be persuaded to accept a compromise - such as being allowed to phone home instead. Part of the change is the understanding that such aggressive episodes are not something that is inevitable - as previously believed.
The latest in better care at IMH is the high-dependency psychiatric unit, opened officially yesterday by Professor K. Satku, the Health Ministry's director of medical services.
Dr Tan Weng Mooi, chief operating officer at IMH, said the 10-bed unit, built at a cost of $400,000, allows for better monitoring and care of violent patients.
One staff to one or two patients is better for monitoring and quick intervention when violence is imminent. Patients who need such care are usually those with more serious problems such as schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder.
There are no figures for bipolar disorder here, but Singapore has an estimated 20,000 people suffering from schizophrenia, of whom 10 per cent would need institutional care.
Both these mental illnesses usually hit people in their late teens or early adulthood. Although most cannot be cured, early and aggressive treatment allows them to resume life in the community.
'It is a devastating illness at the prime of their lives,' said Dr Chua.
With treatment, they are no more aggressive than anyone else, he said. Without it, they could lash out when they hallucinate or become paranoid.
Previously, such patients were treated in general wards even when they became violent, disturbing other patients. Some might need to be restrained, a procedure that could aggravate the problem, as well as cause physical harm should the patient struggle.
Dr Chua added that restraints are rarely needed in the new unit. In the five months since it became operational, patients have been recovering faster from serious bouts of aggression. They are now back to normal in four to five days, as opposed to a week previously.
Dr Chua said the past five years has seen a fall in the need to restrain patients - from about 40 to 30 a day. And on average, they are restrained for only three to four hours - about half as long as previously.
The Health Ministry recently announced that it was building a 300-bed psychiatric nursing home that would be ready by 2012 to care for mentally disturbed patients whose conditions are stable and do not require intensive care at IMH. [email protected]
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Fewer long-term patients at IMH
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Doctors say new drugs and treatment methods have raised standards of care </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
IMH's new $400,000 high-dependency psychiatric unit, which was opened officially yesterday, allows for the better care and monitoring of violent patients. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MODERN techniques in mental-health care and better drugs could make long-term patients of the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) a thing of the past.
Today, only 10 to 20 new patients a year end up as long-term stayers, said Dr Chua Hong Choon, a senior consultant at IMH, unlike the 1,200 'permanent residents' who have been there for decades.
The vast majority, even if they cannot be cured, are well enough to rejoin society after a short stay for treatment, he said. They form the 400 transient patients at IMH.
Dr Chua said this improvement comes from more powerful medicines that work faster and have fewer side effects, and from varied and more effective treatments, now that more is understood of such illnesses.
He added that staff are better trained to spot tell-tale signs of patients about to flare up - such as shoving a table, secluding themselves in a corner, or talking to themselves.
Often, early intervention can deflect pent-up anger or feelings of aggression. It might need nothing more than talking to the patient, turning his mind to something else, or even 'bargaining' with him, said Dr Chua.
A patient who suddenly demands to go home and gets angry when told he cannot, might be persuaded to accept a compromise - such as being allowed to phone home instead. Part of the change is the understanding that such aggressive episodes are not something that is inevitable - as previously believed.
The latest in better care at IMH is the high-dependency psychiatric unit, opened officially yesterday by Professor K. Satku, the Health Ministry's director of medical services.
Dr Tan Weng Mooi, chief operating officer at IMH, said the 10-bed unit, built at a cost of $400,000, allows for better monitoring and care of violent patients.
One staff to one or two patients is better for monitoring and quick intervention when violence is imminent. Patients who need such care are usually those with more serious problems such as schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder.
There are no figures for bipolar disorder here, but Singapore has an estimated 20,000 people suffering from schizophrenia, of whom 10 per cent would need institutional care.
Both these mental illnesses usually hit people in their late teens or early adulthood. Although most cannot be cured, early and aggressive treatment allows them to resume life in the community.
'It is a devastating illness at the prime of their lives,' said Dr Chua.
With treatment, they are no more aggressive than anyone else, he said. Without it, they could lash out when they hallucinate or become paranoid.
Previously, such patients were treated in general wards even when they became violent, disturbing other patients. Some might need to be restrained, a procedure that could aggravate the problem, as well as cause physical harm should the patient struggle.
Dr Chua added that restraints are rarely needed in the new unit. In the five months since it became operational, patients have been recovering faster from serious bouts of aggression. They are now back to normal in four to five days, as opposed to a week previously.
Dr Chua said the past five years has seen a fall in the need to restrain patients - from about 40 to 30 a day. And on average, they are restrained for only three to four hours - about half as long as previously.
The Health Ministry recently announced that it was building a 300-bed psychiatric nursing home that would be ready by 2012 to care for mentally disturbed patients whose conditions are stable and do not require intensive care at IMH. [email protected]
