Address by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health, at the Opening Ceremony of the National Neuroscience Institute “One Heart, One Mind” Neuro-Awareness Exhibition, 3 September 2016

Professor Ivy Ng, Group Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Health Services

Associate Professor Ng Wai Hoe, Medical Director, National Neuroscience Institute

Chairman and Members of the Organising Committee

Distinguished guests

1.    A very good morning to you. Thank you for inviting me to the One Heart, One Mind Neuro-Awareness Exhibition organised by the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI).

2.    Many neurological disorders like stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, brain tumour, and traumatic brain injury are associated with long-term disability, such as cognitive and physical impairments. Given our ageing population, the number of people with neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease is expected to rise. And indeed, you know, as Professor Ng asked each of us if we have any next-of-kin, family or friends, who might have suffered from some neurological disorder, to raise our hands, I think many of us raised our hands, including myself.

Current Efforts by NNI to Increase Awareness

3.    Neurological disorders can be devastating to patients, as well as their families and caregivers. Such conditions may also happen to anyone among us. Therefore, it is important that we create greater awareness and understanding of these conditions. This can enable patients and their loved ones to pick up early warning signs, and seek timely intervention for better disease control and quality of life. With greater understanding and knowledge, patients and their family members will also be more confident and empowered to plan for the future and prepare for potential challenges. Indeed, there would be many.

4.    Parkinson’s disease is one example. Besides research on its causes and developing better treatments for the disease, NNI has various initiatives to provide holistic care to afflicted patients. The Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Centre (PDMDC) has a multidisciplinary healthcare team that runs a Parkinson’s Disease Support Group. It provides regular educational and emotional support for patients and their caregivers. The Centre also organised Singapore’s first outreach programme for patients with Parkinson’s disease, tapping into its integrated network of community healthcare facilities to enhance care delivery for their patients.

5.    NNI also actively reaches out to the community through collaborations with primary and community care providers. Established since 2007, the Community Care Partners Programme (CCPP) is Singapore’s first organised outreach programme for people with Parkinson’s disease. It aims to enhance the delivery of community care and support to patients by leveraging on the well-integrated network of community healthcare facilities in Singapore. In addition, the Cognitive Assessment and Rehabilitation (CARe) Programme was also developed in 2013 in collaboration with SingHealth Polyclinics to support early diagnosis of dementia patients, appropriate pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, as well as patient education and counselling. Other partners of NNI include voluntary support organisations, like the Alzheimer’s Disease Association (ADA), Singapore National Stroke Association (SNSA) and Brain Tumour Society Singapore (BTS).

6.    In addition, NNI also carries out on-going health education through innovative and interactive educational books, public health forums, and the mass media to increase public awareness on the effects of various neurological conditions. Indeed, today’s exhibition is one such effort.

Future Efforts for Patients with Neurological Conditions

7.    The Ministry of Health is also undertaking various initiatives to support patients with neurological conditions. Under our Action Plan for Successful Ageing that was launched by the Ministerial Committee on Ageing last year, we are working with various community partners to create a more caring and supportive community to enable seniors who have dementia to age in place. For example, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has worked with local communities such as Macpherson and including my own constituency Hong Kah North to build Dementia Friendly Communities. We have also rolled out community resources, such as the ‘Knowing Dementia’ toolkit, to help our seniors and caregivers recognise early signs of dementia, and trained over 9,000 individuals on dementia awareness, so that they can pick up people with dementia early and get them to seek treatment early. Together with NNI and other partners, we will continue to educate the public, and support patients and their caregivers, in the area of neurological disorders.

8.    This health exhibition is an excellent example of these on-going efforts and I am positive that this will be indeed an educational and enriching experience for all visitors. I am pleased to declare the One Heart, One Mind NNI Neuro-Awareness Exhibition open. I wish all of you a most fruitful and meaningful day.