Speech by Mr Ng How Yue, 2nd Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, at the Singapore Patient Conference 2017, 20 Oct 2017

Professor Philip Choo, Group Chief Executive Officer, NHG

Professor Eugene Fidelis Soh, Chief Executive Officer, TTSH and Central Health

Distinguished speakers and judges

Patients, caregivers, community partners, volunteers and healthcare colleagues

1.            I am very happy to join you this morning, at the annual Singapore Patient Conference and the Singapore Patient Action Awards.

Volunteers in Healthcare

2.            The theme of this year’s conference, ‘Volunteerism – Powering Change in Health and Social Care’, acknowledges the rising importance of volunteers in care provision.

3.            As our population ages rapidly, the demand for healthcare services will increase. Many of our patients, especially elderly patients, may not have their conditions completely cured within a single healthcare session. They may need to go through a journey of recovery and rehabilitation.

4.            Volunteers play a very important role in supporting our patients, both within and outside of our healthcare institutions. Within our healthcare institutions, volunteers can be the helping hand and the encouraging voice, for our patients and caregivers. In the community, volunteers can help close the last mile of healthcare delivery, whether by helping to monitor frail patients or escorting them for reviews at our healthcare institutions. Many volunteers also serve as patient advocates and help us improve our care delivery, while others form patient support groups and educate patients on how to better manage their conditions.

5.            We see many of these outstanding volunteers here today. Smilez, the winner of the Patient Support Group Award this year, is an example. The group was initiated in 2002 by a group of young volunteers who rallied their friends to jointly engage the elderly residents at Ren Ci Hospital. They went the extra mile to plan and create activities tailored for the residents at Ren Ci Nursing Home, and have now formed very close bonds with Ren Ci residents.

6.            Another example is the good work done by volunteer leaders at Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s (TTSH) Eye Clinic. When the Clinic was looking for ways to address increasing patient numbers and longer waiting times, volunteer leaders such as Madam Idawati Bte Mohammad and Associate Professor Albert Teo worked with the healthcare team to develop a training programme that allows volunteers to take on enhanced roles, such as care navigation, educating patients on the right way of administering glaucoma eye drops and guiding patients through the more complicated glaucoma eye screening test. As a result, patients are less apprehensive about the process and the Eye Clinic also saw a decrease in irregularities in patients’ eye drop regimen and screening. 

Centre for Health Activation – Charting the Way for Health and Social Care Activation

7.            As we engage more volunteers in the care delivery process, they will need to be empowered with new skills. Today, I am pleased to witness the launch of the new training and research institute, Centre for Health Activation (CHA), which seeks to deepen the knowledge and skills of healthcare volunteers and patients.  Under CHA’s Hospital Elder Life Programme (HELP), volunteers will be trained to engage elderly patients to prevent the onset of delirium. Beyond performing simple caregiving tasks, volunteers will also help identify risk factors in patients who have inadequate caregiver support. In the pipeline is a “patient-help-patient” programme in which knee replacement patients who have recovered help to encourage current patients to do simple exercises to aid in the recovery process.

Role of Caregivers in Patient Care

8.            Apart from volunteers, caregivers are the other group of special people who are absolutely critical to patient care. Held for the third year, the annual Singapore Patient Action Awards also recognises their kinship and tenacity. All 61 nominees have inspiring stories to share. I believe that these extraordinary individuals and groups will continue to make a positive impact on the lives of people around them.

9.            Allow me to share this story of a dedicated caregiver, Madam Choong Siet Mei, who supported her husband, Mr Tan Whee Boon, when he had a severe bout of food poisoning two years ago and had to have his limbs amputated. Madam Choong was always there for her husband, attending to all his needs and being his greatest cheerleader throughout this difficult journey.

10.         Her unwavering love, dedication and encouragement have fueled Mr Tan’s renewed enthusiasm and zest for life. Mr Tan today engages in physical sports such as swimming and wheelchair rugby. He hopes to re-enter the workforce very soon, and has been taking courses to upgrade his skills. He is also an active volunteer under the TTSH’s Amputee Patient Support Group. Together as a team, the couple often visit other amputee patients in the hospital to befriend them, share their story of perseverance, or just to lend a sympathetic ear.

11.         I am heartened to hear their story. My heartfelt congratulations to Mdm Choong on receiving the Patient Caregiver Award this year!

Conclusion

12.         Let me end by congratulating all the winners today. Let us together celebrate the courage and resilience of our patients, caregivers and volunteers. I hope the good work of these dedicated individuals will inspire more to join in this meaningful journey of building a more compassionate, gracious and inclusive society.

Thank you.