Press Releases
MOH Press Statement on NKF
14 July 2005
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14 Jul 2005
Chairman and Members of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Board, together with its CEO, approached the Minister for Health this afternoon for advice on how to respond to public reactions to the ongoing court case between the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and the Singapore Press Holdings.
The Minister stressed two immediate priorities. First, care for NKF's dialysis patients should not be disrupted in any way. Second, shattered public confidence must be restored.
The NKF Board members and the CEO shared this view.
On restoring public confidence, the NKF Board and the CEO sought the Minister's intervention and offered to resign in order to give him a free hand in this. In particular, they requested Minister's assistance to reconstitute a new Board and appoint a new CEO. NKF is an independent non-Governmental Voluntary Welfare Organisation. However, in the interest of the dialysis patients and the NKF, the Minister agreed to help in this effort.
Over the next few days, the Government will appoint an interim board to ensure continuous operation of NKF's various Dialysis Centres, as well as to work on medium-term tasks, including forming a new Board, appointing a new CEO, reviewing accounting practices, funding needs, and pricing and subsidy policies. Pending completion of these reviews, NKF will suspend active fund-raising activities.
The Minister acknowledged that the NKF has been a key partner in providing care for kidney patients. There will continue to be many patients needing such help and the cause for charity should not be diminished by this episode.