Speech by Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health, at the Eastern Health Alliance Scientific Meeting, at Changi General Hospital on 11 Nov 2016, 8.40am

Mr Gerard Ee, Chairman, Eastern Health Alliance

Dr Lee Chien Earn, Group Chief Executive Officer, Eastern Health Alliance and Chief Executive Officer, Changi General Hospital

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

1.    Good morning. It is indeed a great pleasure to join you this morning at the opening ceremony of the sixth Eastern Health Alliance Scientific Meeting. I have attended this meeting several times since its inception in 2010, and am encouraged to see that it has gained a strong following as a platform for networking and sharing of ideas and experiences, as well as knowledge among healthcare professionals.

2.    The theme of this year’s meeting, “Transitions of Care”, is timely and important as it reflects our priority to better integrate patient care, across all the various settings.

Continuity of Care a Pressing Issue

3.    Singapore’s rapidly ageing population coupled with the increase in chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, present us with new challenges. A hospital-centric model of care is no longer tenable for meeting the changing healthcare needs. Our focus must shift from the traditional acute hospital-centric model to one that is based on patient-centric and community care, as well as moving beyond healthcare delivery to empower our population to stay healthy. In doing so, we also need to ensure that patients receive coordinated and seamless care. Our Regional Healthcare Systems (or RHSs) are at the heart of this transformation, requiring significant changes not only in operational processes but also in mindsets, in order to manage the paradigm shift from curing illness to keeping people well.

Regional Healthcare System Priorities

4.    The RHS functions as an integrator to link up care for patients both within and across care settings, as well as between different providers. To do so, each RHS needs to first understand the health profile of their regional population, and establish strong partnerships with providers and the community, underpinned by robust protocols and care processes. The RHS would need to go beyond the acute hospital and work with partners in the wider healthcare sector, especially in the community setting to bring care closer to home for our ageing population.

5.    I am pleased to note that many RHSs have been investing in such efforts, partnering MOH and various stakeholders in actively exploring new service models and innovative initiatives.

6.    For example, to keep the population healthy, and to enable them to age well with a supportive community, RHSs have been working with community partners to encourage appropriate screening. From FY14-15, the RHSs have screened in total of more than 45,000 residents under the various preventive health programmes, with a follow-up rate of 58% (i.e. 11,328 residents) for those who need it. But we can still do more and do better, to encourage our residents to get the screening done and do the the follow-up they need and stay healthy.

7.    The RHSs have also been helping hospital patients with more complex needs to successfully transit from hospital to home, and ensure that they can remain well in the community. In FY15, the RHSs have helped more than 2,600 patients under the transition care (TC) programmes.  The TC programmes have led to a 12% reduction in hospital readmissions and 8.2% in mortality rates, within just 6 months from the start of programme.

8.    The RHSs have also been working to establish shared care arrangements between hospital specialists and GPs, so that patients with chronic conditions can receive appropriate care from their regular family doctor nearer to their door step. Over the past two years more than 7,000 patients have been successfully transitioned to GPs.

THE EASTERN HEALTH ALLIANCE’S CONTRIBUTIONS

9.    The Eastern Health Alliance (or EHA) in particular has made immense strides in the area of community engagement, with programmes such as the Eastern Community Health Outreach, or “ECHO”. The health screening component of ECHO has grown significantly since its inception in 2011 to cover the entire eastern region of Singapore, and screened more than 7,500 people in FY14-15. ECHO is also working closely with GPs to help patients with chronic diseases access key support services such as diabetic foot screening and nurse counselling, through three Eastern Community Health Centres (CHCs) in the region.

10.    EHA has been an invaluable comrade in supporting the ‘War on Diabetes’ in the East Coast area as well. Other than giving health talks to the community to raise awareness about diabetes, EHA has a team of healthcare professionals, including doctors, dieticians, and psychologists, who will be training grassroots leaders and volunteers to become health peers. Through door-to-door house visits, these health peers will motivate and support diabetic patients through dietary and physical activity counselling. The first of such training sessions will start from January next year.

11.    As a key partner of the Community Networks for Seniors, EHA has also been working with communities in eastern Singapore to support seniors to stay active, healthy and age-in-place in their own homes. One example is the ‘Neighbours Programme’ which is a collaboration with the South East Community Development Council aimed at supporting frail and vulnerable seniors with health and social needs. The Neighbours programme has 50 full-time team members with health and social care expertise. They will assess clients’ needs, and help stabilise their conditions as needed. The team works with over 200 trained volunteers who help to monitor and support clients living in their own neighbourhoods. Neighbours, which began in 2013 with three neighbourhoods, now covers the entire eastern region, supporting more than 3,500 clients with high health and social care needs. It has succeeded in reducing the hospital readmission rates for two out of three clients under the programme.

12.    EHA has also been nurturing close partnerships between various organisations to help ensure and enhance the continuum of care within the acute care sector. This morning, CGH and the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) will be signing a memorandum of collaboration to launch the SNEC Eye Clinic @ CGH. The partnership will allow SNEC to tap on CGH’s multi-disciplinary care services. In turn, CGH can leverage on SNEC’s expertise in specialist eye care. Ultimately, this collaboration will benefit patients living in the eastern region of Singapore. For example, patients with diabetic retinopathy can receive follow-up at SNEC Eye Clinic @ CGH, in addition to regular follow-ups at the CGH Diabetes Centre that provides not just medical and nursing services but also allied health services such as podiatry and dietetic counselling services.

CONCLUSION

13.    EHA’s innovative approach to integrated care exemplifies a spirit of innovation and partnership that will enable us to collectively transform healthcare in Singapore. Platforms such as today’s Scientific Meeting will facilitate the exchange of ideas and sharing of experiences on new models of care which will collectively benefit our people and patients. Together, we can reshape our healthcare for the future.

14.    Thank you and have a productive seminar.