Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Minister of State (Health) at the Voices for Hospices 2011 Charity Concert

08 Oct 2011
By Dr Amy Khor
Venue: ITE COLLEGE EAST

1.     Thank you for inviting me to the Voices for Hospices 2011 Charity Concert. Today is the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. It is indeed my pleasure to join you on this occasion in support of raising the awareness of palliative care in Singapore and around the world.

2.     Going through life’s final journey is always painful both for patients and their family members. While we often express joy at new beginnings such as the birth of a child, end of life issues are taboo, and often left unspoken and much neglected, especially in our Asian culture. There is therefore a lot more that we can do to help such patients and their families, to relieve the patient’s physical suffering, to empower the patient and caregivers, to provide the extra layer of emotional support along the way, and to help patients achieve “a good death” and the best possible quality of life.

3.     I am heartened to note that there are already many ongoing efforts to raise the awareness of the palliative care sector. A few months ago, I was invited to a dialogue session at the Social Leadership Singapore organised by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre. The theme of the dialogue was “End of Life Issues and Ageing”. I was impressed with the energy and enthusiasm of the participants in championing the cause for the elderly and terminally ill patients. During my recent visits to the HCA Day Care Centre, Dover Park Hospice and Assisi Hospice, I was touched by the dedication of the health care professionals and the volunteers in helping patients maximise the quality of life, in the face of terminal illness. The work is demanding and imposes a heavy physical, and emotional toil.  The dynamism, passion and compassion of people working in the palliative care sector are indeed very commendable, and will certainly propel the development of palliative care to greater heights.

4.     It is also gratifying to note that over the last few weeks, there has been considerable media interest and reporting on end of life issues. Members of the public have expressed their views in the forum pages. In particular, I was touched by two personal accounts of how the care of patients at the end of their lives was set aglow with palliative care. Both writers commented that it was important to have more public awareness that such services are available. We need to press on with our efforts to ensure that palliative care is accessible to patients who need them.

5.     To this end, I would like to commend the Singapore Hospice Council for your efforts in raising public awareness of end of life issues through outreach activities such as the “Life Before Death” awareness campaign and the “Living before Leaving” initiative.  I am also pleased to hear that Singapore Hospice Council is launching a new initiative called the Community Outreach Programme, which serves to raise awareness of palliative care services among the public through constituency events, talks, posters and information brochures. I commend your efforts and wish you success in achieving the targets you have boldly set out. I hope there will be many more of such activities organised in collaboration with the community organisations to reach out to the public.

6.     While speaking to Dr Seet Ai Mee and some of the Singapore Hospice Council members before this event, I learnt that the development of palliative care services in Singapore has come a long way. The hard-fought achievements in the sector have occurred over the course of twenty years. Since its establishment in 1995, the Singapore Hospice Council has grown from five to twelve member organisations today. Many of the past and present Council members have contributed immensely to the development of palliative care in Singapore. Their contributions included establishing new palliative care services, pioneering research, mentoring health care professionals and educating the public. I would like to congratulate the pioneers, volunteers and professionals for taking the road less trodden and soldiering on despite the difficulties encountered along the way.

7.     In closing, let me say that as our society ages, there will be many more elderly and terminally ill people who will need our care and support at the end of life. . Every deed we do, however big or small, will go a long way towards helping them in this difficult journey.

8.     I would like to congratulate the organisers and the participants for putting together the multiracial performances. On this note, I wish all of you a pleasant and enjoyable evening.