Dr Tay Kai Hong
Senior Consultant
PSYCHIATRIST
"CARE IS
to provide holistic, personalised and personal care to my patients, to help them achieve their full potential in life.”
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Tay Kai Hong is Medical Director and Co-Founder of Private Space Medical. A psychiatrist with more than 15 years of clinical experience, he looked after patients with depression, anxiety, ADHD and a wide range of other psychological conditions when he was in public service. He established brain stimulation facilities in a general hospital to treat patients with severe mood disorders. He is also an expert in sleep disorders and spearheaded the development of sleep medicine services for Psychiatry. He has authored treatment guidelines and published research on insomnia.
As Director of Mental Resilience and member of the SingHealth Mental Wellness Steering committee, Dr Tay developed programs to build resilience and prevent burnout in healthcare professionals. He gave regular mental health talks to new doctors, nurses, grassroots leaders and the public. He has contributed articles and educational materials to The Straits Times, Zao Bao, National Council of Social Services and National Youth Council.
As Site Director for the National Psychiatry Residency Program, Dr Tay oversaw specialist training of doctors training to be psychiatrists and sat on the selection committee to interview candidates applying to the specialist program. He has taught and mentored many batches of psychiatry residents, guiding them in their medical training and exams. Appointed Clinical Asst. Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School, Dr Tay is a passionate educator and received excellent feedback for his teaching. He was awarded teaching awards by NUS and National Healthcare Group.
Dr Tay strives to go the extra mile for every patient. His kind and caring demeanour won over many of his patients. Their feedback and nominations led to him clinching the Star Award for the Singapore Health Quality Service Awards, and Gold Award in the hospital’s clinical service and patient experience awards ceremony.
Dr Tay hopes to combine the best practices from years of experience to deliver holistic and personalized care, grounded in scientific evidence and delivered in a patient-centric manner. Skilled in the use of medications and psychological therapy, Dr Tay believes in respecting the patient’s choice when it comes to treatment.
Dr Tay’s clinical interests include youth mental health, sleep disorders, mood/anxiety disorders and developmental disorders such as ADHD, autism and intellectual disability. He has published research on insomnia, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, neuro-stimulation, and presented his research at both local and international conferences.
During his National Service, Dr Tay was conferred the Sword of Merit Award during his officer cadet course. Dr Tay served in the SAF Psychological Care Centre and oversaw the Psychological Medicine Inpatient Centre, where he assessed, managed and determined the PES status of National Servicemen who experienced stress, anxiety and depression.
Besides clinical duties at Private Space Medical, Dr Tay currently serves as Visiting Consultant at the University Health Centre of NUS. He also supports clinical services in the SAF, at the Medical Classification Centre and Psychological Care Centre. He has designed and delivered mental health workshops to commanders of the Home Team, comprising the Singapore Police Force, SCDF, Singapore Prisons Service and Central Narcotics Bureau.
As Co-Founder of Private Space Medical, Dr Tay hopes to bring his vision of healthcare “Positive Change, Purposeful Lives” to fruition, by delivering high-quality, scientific, holistic and personalized care to every patient he sees.
EXPERIENCE
- Lead Psychiatrist for Sleep Medicine Psychiatry, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore
- Lead Psychiatrist for Neuro-stimulation Service, Sengkang General Hospital
- Site Director, National Psychiatry Residency Program, Singapore
- Chairman, Residency Program Evaluation Committee (Psychiatry)
- Clinical Assistant Professor, NUS-Duke Medical School, Singapore
- Director, Mental Resilience Program, SKH Department of Psychiatry
- Medical Officer-In-Charge, Psychological Medicine Inpatient Service, Singapore Armed Forces
- Visiting Consultant, University Health Centre, National University of Singapore
EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), National University of Singapore
- Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) (United Kingdom)
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
- English, Chinese, Hokkien
AWARDS
- Singapore Health Quality Service Award (Star) (Singapore Ministry of Health, 2022)
- Long Service Award (Singapore Ministry of Health, 2021)
- You Sparkle! Award (Gold) (Sengkeng General Hospital, 2021)
- NUS Young Educator Teaching Award (National University of Singapore, 2018)
- NHG Teaching Award (National Healthcare Group, 2017)
- IMH Quality Day Gold Award (Institute of Mental Health, 2015)
- Service with a Heart Award (Singapore General Hospital, 2013)
EXPERIENCE
- Lead Psychiatrist for Sleep Medicine Psychiatry, Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore
- Lead Psychiatrist for Neuro-stimulation Service, Sengkang General Hospital
- Site Director, National Psychiatry Residency Program, Singapore
- Chairman, Residency Program Evaluation Committee (Psychiatry)
- Clinical Assistant Professor, NUS-Duke Medical School, Singapore
- Director, Mental Resilience Program, SKH Department of Psychiatry
- Medical Officer-In-Charge, Psychological Medicine Inpatient Service, Singapore Armed Forces
- Visiting Consultant, University Health Centre, National University of Singapore
EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), National University of Singapore
- Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) (United Kingdom)
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY
- English, Chinese, Hokkien
SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS
- MIMS Pharmacotherapy Guide to Insomnia. 2021 Edition.
- Systematic Review of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pharmacotherapy in Insomnia Disorder. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 2022.
- Lithium treatment for unipolar major depressive disorder: Systematic review. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2019.
- Reducing transfers of psychiatric inpatients to emergency rooms of general hospitals in Singapore: a clinical practice improvement project. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 2016.
- Neurocognitive Functioning and Quality of Life in Patients with and without Deficit Syndrome of Schizophrenia. Psychiatry Research, 2018.
- Neuroleptic malignant syndrome in an afebrile patient on second generation antipsychotics. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 2020.
- Electroconvulsive Therapy after Recurrent Myocardial Infarction in a Catatonia Patient. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 2020.
- Lithium-induced symptomatic second-degree heart block: A case report. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 2021.
