The 14th Biennial School Nurses International Conference

31 Jul 2007

By Mr Heng Chee How

Venue: YWCA, Fort Canning Lodge

Ms Mary Henley, Founder Member of School Nurses International;

Ms Kathlyn Fritsch, Regional Advisor in Nursing, Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO), World Health Organisation (WHO);

Mr Wong Yew Meng, Chairman, Health Promotion Board;

Ladies and Gentlemen;

INTRODUCTION

Good morning.

It is my pleasure to be with you at this opening of the 14th Biennial School Nurses International Conference. I understand that the School Nurses International celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and this is also the first time that the Conference is being held in South East Asia. Singapore is indeed honoured to host the Conference. 

I am especially happy to note that nurses from more than 20 countries around the world are gathered here for the conference. To our overseas delegates, I warmly welcome you to Singapore and wish you an enjoyable stay.

I congratulate the organisers for putting together a comprehensive programme covering many fields of school nursing, school health promotion and disease outbreak preparedness which aptly reflect the theme “Looking Beyond: Charting the Direction in School Nursing”.

DISEASE PREVENTION

School nurses are an important part of the primary health care landscape as they are well positioned through the educational setting to detect, prevent and manage common conditions which afflict the young. Such timely detection and management help to minimise the need for more costly medical interventions. It also reduces absenteeism from school due to ill health and therefore ensures that our young are able to reap the benefits of education. 

In Singapore, our school nurses have put in tremendous effort into ensuring the health of our young. They have played a pivotal role in contributing towards the achievement of more than 95% immunisation coverage for all school-going 7 and 12-year-olds against diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps and rubella. Apart from childhood immunisation, the nurses also carry out health screening as well as growth and development monitoring annually, reaching 99% of the 7 and 12-year-olds in school. 

IMPORTANCE OF YOUTH HEALTH PROMOTION FOR ADULT HEALTH

While school nurses essentially look after our population when they are young, an integral part of your role is to help ensure a healthy adult population in the years ahead. Heart disease, hypertension and diabetes are common chronic conditions affecting adults around the world. It is no different in Singapore. These diseases are among the main causes of mortality and morbidity and also contribute significantly to healthcare cost. Although they generally manifest in adulthood, many of these conditions have their origins in the early years and can be prevented with the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. 

Healthy nutrition, regular physical activity, attention to mental wellness and staying smoke-free are key tenets of a healthy lifestyle that should be inculcated from young.

But our young are faced with many challenges of growing up and health may not be a concern for them especially since a notion of invulnerability to disease tends to predominate at their age. They may be unable to perceive how their future health would be affected by their current lifestyle behaviours especially as it might only be apparent in 10, 20 or more years’ time. For example, tempted by the curiosity to smoke and pressure to join the group, a youth might become addicted to the habit without realising the burden of morbidity it would cause him in adulthood. 

Hence, school nurses play an equally important role in inculcating the young with positive health attitudes and equipping them with the knowledge and skills to lead healthy lifestyles.

THE HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOL

In 2000, the Health Promotion Board introduced the CHERISH Award to recognise schools with comprehensive and holistic school health promotion programmes for their staff and students. CHERISH stands for Championing Efforts Resulting in Improved School Health. Awards are divided into bronze, silver or gold, depending on the level of health promotion being performed in schools. All schools are encouraged to try for the awards, and schools that have achieved one are encouraged to aim for a higher class in subsequent years.

Since its inception, the number of schools earning an award has increased from 84 in 2001 to 276 in 2006 – this represents about 80% of the schools in Singapore. Schools achieving a Gold Award have increased from 7 in 2001 to 47 in 2006.  These results underscore schools’ commitment and dedication to nurturing the health of their students and staff. Indeed, HPB has now developed the Platinum Award to recognise exceptional schools. 

This year, the Ministry of Education and Health Promotion Board have agreed to jointly administer the CHERISH Award from 2008 onwards. This marks a significant milestone in Singapore’s Health Promoting School journey as it will undoubtedly raise the profile of the award and garner stronger support from the schools for the health promoting school movement.

STAYING VIGILANT, PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE

On a different note, Singapore had her first encounter with an emerging virus when SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome hit her shores in 2003. I must commend our school nurses who contributed significantly towards the fight against this deadly disease, by conducting home visits to educate those at risk and their families about ways to prevent the spread of the disease and manning air and sea ports around the island to detect and identify possible suspect cases early.

That unfortunate outbreak serves as a timely reminder of the importance of staying vigilant of new and emerging infectious diseases and being prepared to fight them. These include the hand, foot, mouth disease (HFMD) caused by the Enterovirus and the threat of H5N1 avian influenza virus. I understand that schools have put in place preparedness plans to deal with such health threats. I am glad that your conference has not forgotten about the looming threat of infectious diseases and has included “Pandemic Flu and Preparedness for Disease Outbreaks in Schools” as one of your keynote lectures.

CONCLUSION

The young is our future and we must play our part to promote and ensure their health. These efforts will in turn ensure that succeeding generations of Singaporeans live healthy and productive lives.  

In conclusion let me congratulate the School Nurses International once again on its 25th anniversary. I wish the organisers every success for the conference and I hope that all of you will have an enriching and enjoyable conference as you share and exchange experiences and ideas to bring school nursing to greater heights.

Thank you.