Institute of Mental Health - Institute of Mental Health

Felt like a prison, in my honest opinion. Was warded on 1st March until 3 March. Had to convince doctors I was feeling better so that I can return home. Nothing much to do there, except watch TV and read newspaper, and wait until lunch or dinner. We weren't allowed to go to the outside area. You think for a first world country, they have better facilities and be more sympathetic. The world is not yet ready to understand and sympathise with people with mental health issues. Smh.

The A&E gave me the worst experience of my life, was seeking for a therapactical treatment and needed someone to listen, monitor my condition, get a proper diagnosis and to be treated with respect. I was always nice and spoke to them in a soft tone but from the moment I entered inside from an outside referral , I was strapped and the medical officer blackmailed me to be warded, he left me with no choice even as I disagreed. Nurses blocked my exit when I got annoyed with their treatment and when I was terrified, they were singing behind my back. I rejected many times but they have already documented my stay-in, brought a chair out and getting ready to do my ART. Only when I called my mother to bail me out, the doctor lied to my mother that he did not force me and it was just a suggestion but when I rejected multiple times , I was being cornered to agree and they only left me alone after I said I wanted to call the police. I have never gave my consent nor did I sign any forms. Moreover, when I went over to the counter to seek assistance and spoke nicely and told them that I do not wish to be hospitalised, they called the security to take me away. This is the worst experience of my life and no wonder, the education towards mental illness in Singapore is backwards and nobody dare to seek for help not only due to stigma but the treatment of people who were supposed to help them. Even a simple therapy can be turned into this traumatic experience during an A&E visit. Sometimes, I regretted opening up to the professional doctors. Honestly, why work here if mental health is 'non-existent' in your opinion?

The doctors at the a&e are generally quite nice if you speak to them nicely and with respect, the only draw back was the waiting time. The staff there were polite and kind except the old lady at the reception desk.

Went to GP and GP referred me to A&E IMH last week. Went with my mom & Dr Goh reviewed me. A&E staff were kind except for the waiting time (that's normal). Dr suggested warded for a few days so they could better review me. Mom and I agreed because I told the Dr I want to get well. They sent me to ward 3B (serenity centre) the nurses there were kind too. You are required to surrender all your belongings to the nurses there. Change into new attire. I comply with the rules and regulations accordingly. Went in for a panel of doctors' interviews and they asked what happened etc. When I was there I made friends with the patients. They are nice & smart people. Spoke to a couple of them and my heart broke hearing their stories. My "staycation" there was pretty much a self-reflection of what happened - more like no phone, no work kinda thing. Just you & yourself. Food-wise I can't complain, grateful enough there is food and water except for no toilet bidet ah. Overall, I had a pleasant journey with the IMH staff. Thank you for taking care of us, especially the nurses. I am thankful to God for this experience. Here's a message I wanna share, prioritize your mental health. The world can wait, you need you. Don't be hard on yourself ❤ Take care guys.

Yes, they may have some area for improvement but understanding that there is limited amount of professional help compare to patients, not because they do not want to hire but there is real shortage of qualified professional. The staffs there are willing to help, be patients with them, they are also human, they also have emotions.

I accompanied my friend to Clinic B the other day. It was packed. I guess the waiting time was pretty long so there were a lot of people going to the counter and asking the staffs about it. One of the counter staff raised her voice at EVERY single person who went to the counter to ask for help. Literally every single counter staff there were so unapproachable and just rude for no reason. I’m sorry but this isn’t how a frontline healthcare staff should behave especially at a mental institute. Do you think it’s easy for people to bring themselves to come here and seek for help? And for them to be treated like absolute rubbish the first thing they come in? I understand it may be frustrating for the staffs as there were probably overwhelmed but that does not give them the rights to project their anger to the patients who’s here for help. If not happy, don’t work. Nobody is forcing you.

I went to A&E to seek help because I couldn’t have a proper sleep for months because of my mental health. I was told that the approximate waiting time was around 4-5 hours. But it was more than that. I came at 7pm & left the place at 2am. People around me kept asking for their queue status & the staffs always showed their “unhappy” faces. I understand how stressful & tiring it is to handle such situation but the least you could do is be nice to people who are SEEKING HELP. If you want people to respect you, give the same treatment. Be nice.

TL;DR: Went in suicidal, convinced doctor after one night that I’m better, and left still suicidal. Some time in 2020, I was having a tough time with depression and had suicidal thoughts. I knew I wouldn’t have made it through the night if I didn’t seek help immediately, so I headed to the emergency department. I called before I went down, and the lady was polite and knew to expect me. After the usual waiting to see a doctor, it was mutually agreed that I should be admitted so that I could stay in a safe place and will not hurt myself. The nurse who took my stuff for safekeeping was very patient with me as I broke down because I wanted to keep my security blanket with me. They don’t really allow personal items as there is a fear that other patients might take it from you. But the nurse was nice to allow me to have my blanket throughout the night and kept it for me when the morning came. I rated this 2 stars mostly because in the day room there was nothing to do except read newspapers and watch one channel of tv. I was losing my mind and just occupied my thoughts chatting with another patient. If she didn’t chat with me, I would’ve lost it. The environment is dull, and badly lit. It is very depressing to be there and I felt like I wanted to die just to get out. Felt like a nice prison, if I’m being honest. When it was my turn to speak to the doctor, I managed to convince them that I was doing much better after staying overnight and I no longer wanted to hurt myself and convinced them that it is better for my mental health to not remain in the hospital as long as I don’t hurt myself. And they discharged me. Suggestion for change: brighten the environment at least. Give patients more to do than sit around and wait for their next meal.