An article published by Channel NewsAsia suggests that, in addition to doubling the number of palliative care specialists, all healthcare professionals should receive training in palliative care in order to meet the growing need for end of life care in the country.
Speaking to the news channel, Dr Alethea Yee, Director of Education for the Lien Centre for Palliative Care, said: “There are other disciplines like oncology, cardiology, surgery, renal medicine, neurology, etc. that could really benefit to have that palliative care component incorporated into their training.
“Ideally, if there is a national core curriculum that mandates these components into the training of all doctors, then I think we’ll reach a scenario where all doctors are adequately trained in this area.”
However, Dr Wong Tien Hua, 1st vice president of the Singapore Medical Association, comments: “It’s very difficult to make anything compulsory. I think what’s important is that we seek the interest of doctors, because some doctors will have more interest in seeing elderly patients, in treating chronic diseases, and other doctors, more acute conditions.”
Read the full article on the Channel NewsAsia website.
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