THE lack of follow-up care for discharged mental illness sufferers can lead to troubling anti-social behaviour and even suicide.
Several MPs pointed out the danger of this in Parliament yesterday.
They noted that while mental illness can be controlled with medication, some patients stop taking their medicine after they are discharged from the Institute of Mental Health, and become a danger to themselves and others.
In response, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan promised an additional $57 million to go into areas like a long-term monitoring and risk assessment system for discharged patients.
This is on top of the $123 million committed in 2007 to the National Mental Health Blueprint.
Speaking during the debate on the Health Ministry's budget, Ms Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar GRC) told of a resident who was convinced her neighbour upstairs was causing water to flow down and flood her flat.
[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]
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