New Palliative Care Centre in S’pore Aims to Raise Standards of Care & to Normalise Death and Dying

For those who aren’t sure, palliative care refers to care rendered to a patient with a serious illness, to improve their quality of life as well as that of their loved ones. 

And here’s what Professor Ivy Ng, SingHealth Group’s Chief Executive, said about palliative care, “We’re… [looking at] giving patients what matters to them during their final days, and giving them a good closure.”

Her remarks came during a virtual forum held on 23 March to explore palliative care in Singapore by the newly formed SingHealth Duke-NUS Supportive and Palliative Care Centre (SDSPCC) and the Singapore Hospice Council.

The discussion is timely: as Singapore’s aging population experiences a growing propensity to illness, and as palliative care options increasingly come under the spotlight, the demand for it can only rise as time goes on.

To address this need, the SDSPCC was recently set up to centralise supportive and palliative care services under the remit of Singhealth, aiming to strengthen both the capacity and the specialised expertise of these services.

To extend high-quality care options to as many patients as possible, Clinical Assistant Professor Patricia Neo, the head of the SDSPCC, aims to improve both the quality and quantity of Singapore’s palliative care infrastructure, and to equip more professionals with the necessary skills to render competent care.

In so doing, she hopes to “normalise death and dying”, in reference to the culture of avoidance in Singapore around discussions about the end of life. 

Some may hold cultural beliefs that any mention of death is inauspicious, while others find it too emotionally taxing a topic to consider. While entirely understandable, this approach of avoidance can compromise the support the patient and their loved ones receive. 

To this, Prof Neo points out the need for greater public awareness and more open mindsets on palliative care options, seeing it not as “giving up” but as treatment with emphasis on the “dignity, personhood, and maximising of the quality of life”.

What Does Palliative Care Entail?

Palliative care in Singapore today encompasses a wide range of services and can take diverse forms for patients with life-threatening medical conditions and their loved ones.

According to the Singapore Hospice Council (SHC), these services most often include:

• Alleviating pain and other symptoms,
• Financial counselling,
• Emotional support,
• Grief and bereavement support,
• Caregiver training,
• Guidance and facilitating conversations for other complex decision making.

It is rendered by a professional team in various capacities, ranging from doctors to therapists to social workers, and the costs are subsidised by Medisave and other specialised financial schemes. 

Early palliative care, commonly called supportive care, is also emerging as an option, and may be offered to people at earlier stages of a potentially life-threatening illness and are undergoing painful treatment. 

Either way, as the SHC notes, the best care is provided when there is enough time to explore the patient’s values, beliefs, and goals, and to devise a plan that best benefits their individual circumstances.

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