New Hougang facility set up for mental health residents as S’pore rethinks long-term psychiatric care

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung (right) picking up an origami made by a Compass Home client at the official opening of Vanguard Healthcare’s Hougang facility on Oct 5.

ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Published Oct 05, 2026, 05:45 PM

Updated Oct 05, 2026, 05:45 PM

A new integrated psychiatric facility in Hougang admits long-stay mental health patients from the Institute of Mental Health, supporting a shift to community-based long-term psychiatric care in Singapore.

The facility includes a 257-bed nursing home, a 48-bed rehabilitation home for independent living, and a day care centre opening in 2027, offering a continuum of care as patients' needs evolve.

This model helps ageing patients with stable conditions transition from hospital care to supportive, home-like environments, promoting rehabilitation, vocational training, and community reintegration.

SINGAPORE - Since opening its doors in May, an integrated psychiatric facility in Hougang has admitted 151 long-stay residents from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) into its nursing home. Another 14 patients have been placed into another home under the same roof that offers independent support.

The hub marks the latest step in Singapore’s ongoing efforts to shift long-term psychiatric care into community-based settings.

Operated by Vanguard Healthcare, the site at Lorong Napiri houses three complementary services: a 257-bed care home providing round-the-clock nursing care, a 48-bed home focused on building independent living and vocational skills, and a day care centre scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2027.

“We need a continuum of care, with different settings providing different levels of support as a person’s needs change. And the demand for the broad middle will grow as existing patients age,” said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at the official opening of Vanguard Healthcare’s Hougang facility on Oct 5.

Vanguard Healthcare was established by MOH as a public operator to test out new care models. It offers a new model that co-locates a nursing home and a rehabilitation home for mental health, so patients can transit more easily between the two homes, if their needs evolve, Ong said.

For decades, IMH has served as a sanctuary for individuals navigating severe psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder.

Yet, for a significant portion of its residents, many of whom lack home or social support, IMH has evolved into something far more permanent: a place to grow old.

Inside the nearly 2,000-bed facility, long-term stays stretching past 10 or even 20 years have turned wards into living quarters. However, these patients on long-term stay are getting older, with the median age at 58, and 83 patients already aged 70 and above, Ong said.

For many of these patients, their conditions have stabilised, and they get agitated much less frequently, as they become more frail and cognitively weaker.

As they require more supervision, nursing care and assistance with daily living, rather than acute psychiatric care, Singapore has already started to “right-site” them, for instance, in step-down residential facilities that are more home-like, such as Sunlove and St Andrew’s Nursing Home.

There, patients can continue to receive nursing care and support, while participating in rehabilitation and daily activities that help them regain skills, confidence and independence, Ong added.

This experience demonstrated that mental health care cannot consist only of hospitals at one end and independent living at the other, but must also have support in the community to bridge the gap, he said.

The Vanguard Care Home, which started to provide nursing care in May 2026, comprises residents with chronic but stable psychiatric conditions. There is no age requirement, although such patients tend to be older. It has a bed capacity of 257, and will take in more residents progressively over the next months, Vanguard said.

The Vanguard Compass Home, which focuses on rehabilitation and recovery for those with moderately stable mental health conditions who aim to reintegrate into the community, opened in July, with a bed capacity of 48.

Here, clients share living and dining spaces, and are encouraged to take part in daily routines such as washing their own laundry, preparing simple meals for themselves, managing their own medication, and interacting with others in the community, said Vanguard Healthcare CEO Chan Wei Ling.

They are also assisted with job matching, if they expressed interest in work. So far, two clients have secured employment as dishwashers in the neighbourhood, she said.

A third Compass Home client Tan Soh Ghim, 65, also found work, as a fast food restaurant staff a month ago.

A third Compass Home client Tan Soh Ghim, also found work, as a fast food restaurant staff a month ago. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

A third Compass Home client Tan Soh Ghim, also found work, as a fast food restaurant staff a month ago.

Tan, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was admitted to IMH in early 2026 after she had a mental breakdown, transferred from IMH’s rehabilitation programme in August. Her plan is to move to her two-room flexi flat in about a year’s time when that is ready.

Vanguard Healthcare, which was originally set up to run government-operated nursing homes, also manages several other integrated care facilities across Singapore, including the Woodlands Care Home and Senja Care home.

IMH/Institute of Mental Health

10月5日，卫生部长王乙康（右）在先锋医疗保健公司后港分院的正式开业典礼上，拿起一位康柏之家客户制作的折纸作品。

《海峡时报》照片：梁崇俊

发布于 2026 年 10 月 5 日下午 5:45

更新于2026年10月5日下午5:45

后港新建的综合精神病治疗中心接收来自心理卫生学院的长期精神健康患者，支持新加坡向以社区为基础的长期精神病治疗模式转变。

该设施包括一家拥有 257 个床位的疗养院、一家拥有 48 个床位的独立生活康复中心，以及一家将于 2027 年开业的日间护理中心，随着患者需求的演变，提供持续的护理服务。

该模式帮助病情稳定的老年患者从医院护理过渡到支持性的、类似家庭的环境，促进康复、职业培训和重新融入社区。

新加坡——位于后港的一家综合精神科护理机构自五月开业以来，已接收了151名来自心理卫生学院（IMH）的长期住院病人入住其护理院。另有14名病人被安置在同一屋檐下的另一处提供独立支持的住所。

该中心标志着新加坡在将长期精神病护理转移到社区环境中的持续努力中迈出了最新一步。

该机构由 Vanguard Healthcare 运营，位于 Lorong Napiri，设有三项互补服务：一家拥有 257 个床位的护理院，提供全天候护理服务；一家拥有 48 个床位的机构，专注于培养独立生活和职业技能；以及一家日托中心，计划于 2027 年第一季度开业。

“我们需要一个连续的护理体系，不同的机构提供不同程度的支持，以适应个人需求的变化。随着现有患者年龄的增长，对中间层级广泛护理的需求也会增长，”卫生部长王乙康在10月5日先锋医疗集团后港分院的正式开业典礼上表示。

Vanguard Healthcare是由卫生部设立的公共医疗机构，旨在测试新的护理模式。Ong表示，该机构提供了一种新模式，将疗养院和精神康复中心设在同一地点，这样，如果患者的需求发生变化，他们可以更方便地在两个机构之间转换。

几十年来，IMH 一直是患有严重精神疾病（如精神分裂症、双相情感障碍和重度抑郁症）的人们的避难所。

然而，对于其中相当一部分居民来说，他们大多缺乏住房或社会支持，精神卫生研究所已经演变成一个更加持久的地方：一个养老的地方。

在这家拥有近2000个床位的医院里，长期住院的患者人数众多，有些甚至超过10年，病房已经变成了他们的生活区。翁医生表示，这些长期住院的患者年龄越来越大，中位年龄为58岁，其中83名患者已经年过七旬。

对于很多这类患者来说，他们的病情已经稳定下来，随着身体越来越虚弱、认知能力越来越弱，他们的烦躁不安的症状也大大减少了。

由于他们需要更多的监督、护理和日常生活协助，而不是急性精神病治疗，新加坡已经开始对他们进行“合理安置”，例如安置在更像家的过渡性住宅设施中，如 Sunlove 和 St Andrew's Nursing Home。

Ong补充说，在那里，患者可以继续接受护理和支持，同时参与康复和日常活动，帮助他们恢复技能、信心和独立性。

他说，这次经历表明，精神健康护理不能仅仅局限于医院和独立生活这两个方面，还必须有社区的支持来弥合两者之间的差距。

先锋护理院于2026年5月开始提供护理服务，主要接收患有慢性但病情稳定的精神疾病患者。虽然没有年龄限制，但这类患者往往年龄较大。先锋护理院表示，目前设有257张床位，未来几个月将逐步接收更多患者。

Vanguard Compass Home 是一家专注于为精神健康状况较为稳定、旨在重新融入社区的人士提供康复治疗的机构，于 7 月开业，设有 48 张床位。

Vanguard Healthcare 首席执行官 Chan Wei Ling 表示，在这里，客户共享生活和用餐空间，并被鼓励参与日常活动，例如自己洗衣服、为自己准备简单的饭菜、管理自己的药物以及与社区中的其他人互动。

如果他们表达了工作意愿，我们还会协助他们进行工作匹配。她说，到目前为止，已有两位客户在附近找到了洗碗工的工作。

Compass Home 的第三位客户 Tan Soh Ghim（65 岁）一个月前也找到了工作，成为一家快餐店的员工。

Compass Home的第三位客户Tan Soh Ghim也在一个月前找到了工作，成为一家快餐店的员工。（海峡时报照片：CHONG JUN LIANG）

Compass Home 的第三位客户 Tan Soh Ghim 也在一个月前找到了工作，成为一家快餐店的员工。

谭女士被诊断患有精神分裂症，2026年初因精神崩溃入院接受心理卫生学院（IMH）治疗。今年8月，她从IMH的康复计划转出。她的计划是大约一年后搬进她那套两房式灵活组屋，届时组屋将准备就绪。

Vanguard Healthcare 最初成立的目的是运营政府运营的疗养院，现在还管理着新加坡各地的其他几家综合护理机构，包括 Woodlands Care Home 和 Senja Care Home。

心理健康研究所/心理卫生学院