Institute of Mental Health (Singapore)

To appreciate Woodbridge and its work, one must have a historical sense of development and movement. It has been a long battle from custodial care which provides simple refuge and security to community psychiatry that enables people to return to a normal life.

Dr Chee Kuan Tsee, Emeritus Consultant, Woodbridge Hospital/Institute of Mental Health, 1990[1]

The earliest psychiatric facility began as a 30-bed building at the corner of Bras Basah Road and Bencoolen Street in 1841. It was then known as 'The Insane Hospital.' It was renamed the 'Lunatic Asylum' in 1861, and moved to a site near the old Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital. In 1887, this hospital was moved to the 'New Lunatic Asylum', with a capacity for 300 patients, built at College Road (Sepoy Lines) to check an outbreak of cholera. In 1928, a 24-ward 'The Mental Hospital' was built along Yio Chu Kang Road. The 'New Lunatic Asylum' at Sepoy Lines and the ward at Pasir Panjang were closed down[2] and 1,030 patients were transferred to 'The Mental Hospital'.

Spread out over 80 hectares of land, The Mental Hospital was then the largest medical facility in Singapore providing custodial care for the mentally ill, with a capacity for 1,400 patients. In the 1920s, caring for the mentally ill was mainly custodial in nature. Patients were segregated from the community and were cared for by a handful of expatriate nurses with the help of health attendants who were not trained in nursing.[3]

After Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, about 700–800 seriously wounded civilian casualties were transferred from the General Hospital to The Mental Hospital, which was transformed into the Japanese Civilian and Military Hospital. The Japanese transferred about 500 'quieter' mental patients to St John's Island, where many starved to death. The remaining 1,000 were locked up and neglected, of which about 600 were transferred in 1944 to the Central Mental Hospital, Tanjung Rambutan, in Perak, Malaysia. Of these 600, after the war, only 329 returned.

British and Japanese patients, accompanied by nurses, take exercise in the grounds of 81 Mobile Field Hospital.

For a brief period from 1945 to 1947, the British Royal Air Force from the nearby Seletar Airfield requisitioned the hospital for use to treat the sick and wounded of Allied servicemen and Japanese POWs after the end of hostilities of World War II. Thus, the female section was converted into the RAF Hospital while the male section was allocated for use as the Japanese Prisoners of War Hospital. It was known as the 81 Mobile Field Hospital until its return to normal civilian usage in 1947, this hospital was the first Royal Air Force hospital established after the Japanese surrender.

In 1946, the Mental Hospital was returned to its original function, housing some 440 mental patients. In 1951, to shake off some of the stigma associated with mental illness, the hospital was renamed Woodbridge Hospital (WH). This name was derived from the local Chinese name for the hospital area—'Pang Kio' ('Wooden Bridge') as there was a wooden bridge in the hospital vicinity in Yio Chu Kang.

By 1958, Woodbridge Hospital had accommodation for 2,000 patients. The Psychiatric School of Nursing was set up in 1954. In 1955, a social work department was formed as well as an improved occupational therapy service. Psychological services were started in 1956 and V.W. Wilson, the first clinically trained psychologist in Singapore, was contracted from the United Kingdom by the Colonial Medical Service to incorporate a psychological service within the mental health programme.

A Child Guidance Clinic was opened in 1970. This grew to become the Child Psychiatric Clinic and family therapy soon became used to treat the whole family and not just the child.[3]

Community Psychiatric Nursing was set up in 1988 and psychiatric nurses conducted home visits to provide care, support and follow-up for patients within the community.

Up to 1981, psychiatry trainees were sent to the UK to train for the MRCPsych (Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists) qualification. From 1983 onwards, WH, in conjunction with the National University of Singapore Graduate School of Medical Studies, trains its own psychiatrists. The first locally trained Master of Medicine trainee in Psychiatry graduated in 1985.

In 1984, the Ministry of Health mooted the idea of a new psychiatric hospital to evolve from a largely custodial care model to one of community care for the benefit of the people. The prevention, early treatment and rehabilitation of clients with mental conditions would actively operate within the community as opposed to late treatment within an institution that would isolate them from everyday life and make it much harder for them to reintegrate into the community.

Plans were put in place for a very different hospital that would revolutionise mental healthcare in Singapore with further emphasis on training and new initiatives in mental health promotion and clinical research.[4]

WH moved to its present 25-hectare premises in Hougang in 1993. With the move, WH was reorganised and renamed the Institute of Mental Health Hospital to reflect its added commitment to research and training.

In 2006, the Institute of Mental Health compound was marked as Singapore's 83rd historic site[5] by the National Heritage Board due to its history as Singapore's first mental institution.

IMH became the first mental health institution in Asia to receive Joint Commission International Accreditation in 2005, a highly reputable international accreditation of healthcare organisations. Besides providing clinical services, IMH coordinates and oversees education of clinicians, nurses and allied health professionals in psychiatry and conducts research related to mental health.

It also plays a key role in developing capability in community agencies, such as family service centres, to enable their staff to provide support to persons with mental health problems in the community.

In 2006, IMH’s Early Psychosis Intervention Programme won the World Health Organization State of Kuwait Prize for Research in Health Promotion.

In 2011, IMH clinched the inaugural Grand Award for the Hospital of the Year, at the Asian Hospital Management Awards organised by Hospital Management Asia. The award recognises and honours hospitals in Asia that carry out best practices.

In 2012, the Institute of Mental Health earned the Accreditation with Distinction from the American Nurse Credentialing Center (ANCC), for its nursing education, becoming the only institution outside the USA to receive this recognition.[6]

1. IMH Link (Periodical published by The Institute)
2. Institute of Mental Health (2003). Loving hearts, beautiful minds: 75th anniversary. Singapore: Armour Pub.
3. Ng Beng Yeong (2001). Till the Break of Day: A History of Mental Health Services in Singapore, 1841–1993. Singapore: Singapore University Press.
4. Selvaretnam, Sumathi V (21 April 2008). "Book marks hospital's 80th year". Straits Times.
5. "Woodbridge Hospital". Singapore Infopedia. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 28 August 2012.

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