Speech by President Halimah Yacob at the Tan Tock Seng 175th Founders Day Dinner

Mr Gan Kim Yong, Minister for Health

Mdm Kay Kuok, Chairperson, National Healthcare Group

Distinguished guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Good evening. It gives me great pleasure to join Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) in celebrating 175 years of care and service to Singaporeans. My heartiest congratulations to you on reaching this significant milestone as we also commemorate Singapore’s Bicentennial this year.

Mr Tan Tock Seng arrived in Singapore some 200 years ago, round about the time Sir Stamford Raffles also did. As a businessman, he responded to the call to take care of the disadvantaged in the community.  With the support of other community leaders, he founded a hospital for the sick and poor, which was later renamed as Tan Tock Seng Hospital in recognition of its founder. Since 1844, the hospital has moved four times before it settled down in its present location. Today, TTSH anchors the HealthCity Novena in Central Singapore and is part of the National Healthcare Group.

I am heartened that TTSH is expanding your mission to be a “Hospital Without Walls” and carrying on the spirit of your founder to serve the community of 1.4 million residents in Central Singapore.  Together with some 70 community partners, you are developing an integrated care network and model to address the population health needs of the residents.

TTSH has also committed to building “Healthier and Happier Communities”.  As you celebrate 175 years of care, I would like to take this opportunity to commend TTSH and its partners for the good work done in shaping the future of Singapore’s Healthcare.

TTSH has taken the lead to bring together community partners to create an integrated community to care for our residents. For instance, in Ang Mo Kio, TTSH has worked with eight community partners to build an inclusive Dementia Friendly Community, forming an integrated care network to better support residents with dementia and their caregivers. This coordination is very important. As a Member of Parliament for many years, I know that ensuring a coordinated system of care is a challenging task. I am very glad that we have a good example of TTSH providing care for Central, Singapore.

TTSH has also been embedding its Community Health Teams (CHTs) within the community over the last two years to bring care closer to residents across Central Singapore and to support our seniors to age in place. This is especially pertinent for Singapore, as we face an ageing population.  It is important for the health teams to be anchored in the community to help Singaporeans manage their chronic conditions well and keep them safe at their homes.

The CHTs are made up of an inter-professional team of doctors, community nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists, health coaches and operations staff. They work with partners within their vicinity to put together care plans for residents with complex conditions requiring care support. These teams also operate the Community Health Posts in the neighbourhoods to support our seniors in accessing basic health and functional screening, with follow-on coaching towards adopting healthy behaviours. This is important as Singapore has many senior citizens who go for health screenings and they require support for follow-ups. For those who are home-bound, the CHTs make home visits to deliver care and ensure that the residents’ needs are met. Today, TTSH has put in place 80 Community Health Posts in the community with every CHT working hard on the ground with their partners to deliver more integrated and joined up care to the residents.

TTSH has played an active role to help build up its partners’ capabilities to deliver more complex care. A good example is the partnership between TTSH and Kwong Wai Shiu Nursing Home in setting up a Chronic Sick Unit in Kwong Wai Shiu Nursing Home to receive post-discharge patients from TTSH. To facilitate a seamless transition and ensure that the nursing home staff are adequately equipped to provide sub-acute care, TTSH has shared its expertise and conducted training for Kwong Wai Shiu’s staff.

TTSH has also played a significant role in equipping and empowering caregivers and volunteers to forge a closer-knit care ecosystem around the patients. TTSH launched the Centre for Health Activation (CHA) in 2017. Today, CHA runs some 32 programmes involving 500 participants who are mainly caregivers and volunteers. This includes a partnership with Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre, Bless Community Services, Care Community Services Society and People's Association Women's Executive Council, which initiated a new community-based programme called CHArge Up! to train and build a community of carers. CHArge Up! has trained 80 carers so far with some 30 of them being actively deployed to support the CHTs in Ang Mo Kio and Serangoon to conduct home visits. It is extremely difficult to coordinate care on the ground with so many patients especially those who are ageing or suffering from dementia. I am glad TTSH is working with its partners to provide such care.

The work of TTSH and its partners has been very encouraging – bringing community partners together, anchoring its care in the community, contributing to capability building and empowering caregivers and volunteers to build a care ecosystem around the residents. While it is still in its early stages of providing integrated care, TTSH continues to engage and strengthen capabilities and relationships with its partners in Central Singapore. As the network matures, we can look forward to a multiplier effect, as health and social care become better integrated, and more programmes and initiatives are launched to improve the health of Singaporeans.

In closing, I would like to congratulate the management and staff of TTSH, past and present, for 175 years of exceptional care for Singaporeans. Your dedication and commitment to your mission have enabled us to receive good healthcare when needed. For the coming decades and beyond, I look forward to TTSH expanding your mission as a Hospital Without Walls, working closely with partners to care for Singaporeans beyond the hospital to the community.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening.