National Healthcare Group (NHG) HMDP 2003 Ceremony

08 Jul 2003

By Mr Lim Hng Kiang

Venue: Tan Tock Seng Hospital Theatrette

Introduction

This ceremony was originally planned to be held in May but we had to postpone it because we were all tied up combating SARS. I am glad we are able to hold the ceremony today. It reflects the priority we give to human resource development. And as the fight against SARS amply demonstrates: it is the quality of our people that makes the difference in the outcome.

In the initial stages when little was known about SARS and when most people were fearful, our healthcare workers had shown their mettle and faced this disease with tremendous bravery and grit in fulfilling their duties as caregivers for our patients. Some of them had made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives in this fight.

On behalf of the Ministry, I salute all our healthcare workers for placing their patients and their responsibilities above themselves, each and every day, in the fight to contain this new disease. I would like to pay tribute to the contributions made by our foreign healthcare workers who worked together with Singaporeans with enormous courage and dedication. I also want to thank their families once again for their patience and support during this time.

More Healthcare workers

The SARS outbreak has stretched our hospital system. When TTSH was designated as the hospital to deal with the SARS cases, the other hospitals had to share the additional load. Laboratory technicians worked round the clock on a daily basis. It would be difficult for any one or any department to sustain that kind of work pace without becoming exhausted and ineffective.

It is, therefore, my hope that more Singaporeans would be inspired by the exemplary behavior of our healthcare workers to join their ranks. We need more doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians and other allied healthcare workers to work in our public hospitals. I am heartened to hear that the enrolment for nurses has increased this year. I hope more would consider the varied professions of the healthcare sector as their long-term career. I would also like to see more doctors training to become specialists in infectious diseases, public health and epidemiology.

New Challenges Ahead

Although Singapore has been taken off the WHO list of areas with recent local transmission of SARS since 31 May, we must all continue to maintain the highest level of vigilance and be combat-ready for the next resurgence of this disease and any others that may come our way. This is especially important in the frontlines of our healthcare services.

The recent outbreak has taught us many important lessons. Post-SARS healthcare services will not return to the same norms as in the pre-SARS era.

In the same way as other industries have worked out business contingency plans to ensure that daily operations are not affected, hospitals and other acute healthcare facilities must work out strategies to ensure that healthcare services could continue uninterrupted in future crises.

SARS has catalysed changes in the organisation of medical manpower in many hospital departments. It has also seen wards and waiting areas being restructured to reduce the risks of cross-infections between patients. Infection control measures were also stepped up. Healthcare professionals will need to undergo training and re-training to ensure that these new measures are effectively implemented. My Ministry will continue to work closely with the clusters to provide direction and support in these areas.

Training & Development of Staff

While we maintain our readiness for SARS and other infectious diseases, the training and development of our healthcare professionals and facilities must continue. We recognise that excellent and well-trained healthcare professionals are the key for an excellent healthcare system that will serve Singaporeans well and allow Singapore to remain an important medical hub.

I am glad to see that the National Healthcare Group has consistently placed much emphasis on staff training and development to empower your team with the required medical knowledge and expertise. These are in line with my Ministry's long term objectives and will certainly go a long way to ensure your long-term success.

People will and must continue to be our most important resource and asset and I would like to reassure you my Ministry will continue to fully support NHG's longstanding commitment to staff training and development. I want to urge the clusters to continue with the efforts to continually upgrade your staff through training.

I am especially proud of the fact that NHG has been able to continue with its staff training and development initiatives and programmes despite the difficulties and challenges that NHG and its member institutions had in the preceding months.

As Chairman NHG has pointed out, our organizations need to be able to generate new and useful ideas for Singapore to remain relevant and retain its competitiveness and ensure long term survival in the years ahead. It is my vision that an accomplished Learning Organisation be established where knowledge can be successfully created, acquired, interpreted, retained and transferred and where behaviors are purposefully modified based on new knowledge and insights to respond well to challenges. This is key in fighting new challenges successfully as the recent SARS crisis has shown.

A team approach to training is vital as healthcare is multi-disciplinary in nature. The recent SARS outbreak has shown that health administrators also play an important role and are key partners of the whole healthcare team. Therefore, your new HMDP postgraduate scholarship on health administration to groom future leaders is a move in the right direction.

HMDP Recipients

I would like to extend my congratulations to this year's HMDP recipients. All of you have been specially selected by your managers and supervisors to gain new knowledge, skills and insights that will help to improve the lives of your patients and Singaporeans in the years ahead. I would like to urge and challenge you all to take this opportunity to explore and acquire new knowledge and skills that will keep Singapore at the forefront of healthcare delivery. We are confident that in the different programmes that you are all embarking upon, that you will be able to contribute actively to Singapore's healthcare delivery and your patients' quality of care upon your return.

Let me now congratulate all of you once again and wish you all the very best in your programmes.

Thank you!