TRAINING NURSES TO PROVIDE CARE BEYOND INPATIENT SETTINGS GIVEN PUSH FOR COMMUNITY CARE

NOTICE PAPER NO. 310

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 12 JANUARY 2026

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Mr Yip Hon Weng

MP for Yio Chu Kang

Question No. 963

To ask the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health given the push for community care, (a) whether the Ministry will incorporate cross-disciplinary allied health modules into the nursing curriculum to support nurses' roles beyond inpatient settings; and (b) whether similar holistic care perspectives be included in the training of family and rehabilitation physicians to enhance upstream inter-professional collaboration.

Answer

1           The Ministry of Health (MOH) is working with Institutes of Higher Learning, healthcare institutions and AIC to incorporate relevant cross-disciplinary competencies into nursing education to support community care. For example, topics on nutrition intervention have been incorporated into general nursing curricula to provide guidance on appropriate dietary choices for patients with chronic health conditions. Community nurses are also trained to detect patients with functional problems early, such as impaired mobility or vision, for prompt escalation.

2            Similarly, residency training for family and rehabilitation physicians includes supporting care in the community, such as identifying available community rehabilitation and support services to refer patients to. This facilitates inter-professional collaboration to deliver holistic care.