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SINGAPORE : Acupuncture in a hospital ward would have raised some eyebrows years back, but not anymore. Some stroke patients have benefitted from using Western and traditional Chinese medicine hand in hand.
Seventy-nine-year-old stroke patient Poon Hin Wah is now able to lift his right hand with ease, but it wasn't the case when he first came to Ang Mo Kio Hospital last month.
The stroke had left the right side of his body mildly paralysed.
He could not move his right limbs and his speech was slurred.
Dr Siew Yong Peng, one of the few Singapore doctors trained in both Western and traditional Chinese medicine, prescribed acupuncture on top of the physiotherapy treatment Mr Poon was already getting.
Six sessions of acupuncture later, Mr Poon is now able to swing his arms swiftly.
The acupuncture has also eased his pain and he is more cheerful.
Said Dr Siew, "I don't believe that acupuncture is the only treatment that's responsible for his recovery. It's also the control of his blood pressure, the control of his lipids, cholesterol and of course good physiotherapy -- these are all absolutely important. "
In the past, a patient could only receive acupuncture treatment two to three weeks after his stroke, when his condition had stabilised.
But now, the patient can receive acupuncture treatment in the wards within the same week, and that, doctors say, improves his chances of recovery.
"We're giving him the best of both worlds: physio as well as acupuncture. And we're looking at a speedy recovery for him," said Poon Teng Seng, Mr Poon's son.
Ang Mo Kio Hospital is the only one in Singapore where patients can have acupuncture in the wards.
Inpatients can also opt to go to the newly-opened, on-site Hong Hua TCM Medical Centre for treatment.
Since the full-fledged traditional Chinese medicine centre opened on April 18, it has seen a 75 percent jump in demand for acupuncture.
Besides consultation, the centre also offers "tui-na" massage and acupuncture treatment for both inpatients and outpatients.
Later in May, its practitioners will be allowed to prescribe licensed Chinese medicinal products.
The centre is part of the Health Ministry's push for greater collaboration between Western and Eastern medicine in hospitals.
But this is not for everyone.
Hospital doctors say they have to assess every patient, and those with skin infections and blood disorders and will have to give acupuncture a miss.
Also, this is as far as the East meets West treatment goes -- patients are not prescribed a mix of Western and Eastern medication.
And although most public hospitals have TCM clinics, inpatients can only have acupuncture away from the wards.
But other hospitals may soon follow in the footsteps of Ang Mo Kio Hospital, as more have now come to accept such treatments.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital says the number of stroke patients who have gone for acupuncture at its rehabilitation centre almost tripled last year, from 64 in 2003 to 181 in 2004.
Many, like primary school teacher Woo Oi Leng, have benefitted from the hospital's Complementary Integrative Medicine, in which Western and Eastern medicine are combined to treat common medical conditions.
A mild stroke three months ago left her with a stiff shoulder and it hurt when she turned her neck.
She said, "After two to three treatments, the pain was less on my shoulder and I could turn my head. Before that I could only look straight. I'm very happy with the acupuncture treatment. I don't think I could achieve such good results if I'd only gone for physiotherapy."
Besides stroke, the World Health Organisation has recognised acupuncture as beneficial for treating 20 over common conditions including back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, sinusitis, gastritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and urinary incontinence. - CNA /ct
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