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SINGAPORE : For two months, Elton Seah could do nothing but lie in his hospital bed in the Intensive Care Unit and cry. Paralysed and unable to speak, the 10-year-old became extra sensitive to pain, but could only express the pain through tears.
In January, the boy was diagnosed with Guillaume-Barre Syndrome (GBS), a disorder where the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.
GBS is characterised by the rapid onset of weakness, paralysis and hypersensitivity. Even when a blanket was placed over him, his skin hurt.
It didn't help that at the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) where he was warded, there were only two doctors and one nurse who could help alleviate his pain.
Said Dr Michelle Tay, the consultant at KKH's department of paediatric anaesthesia who treated Elton: "Pain in children is often undertreated. Some of the reasons include difficulty in assessing pain in children, misconception about pain medication, treatment and lack of appropriate facilities."
With the launch of the KKH Pain and Palliative Care Programme on Friday, however, children like Elton can now be better cared for.
Sponsored by the National Kidney Foundation Children's Medical Fund, it will offer comprehensive pain management for children in both inpatient and outpatient settings, through an integrated multi-disciplinary approach.
Besides drug therapy, the scheme incorporates pain education, counselling and physical therapy.
The fund will donate $1.7 million over a period of five years to train the team and cover medical equipment costs.
Thirty-four children have benefited from the programme since it was introduced in March.
Elton has since recovered. His mother Josephine Poh, 38, wished they could have benefited from such a programme during those traumatic months.
Said the administrative executive: "Certain chronic pain cannot be cured by painkillers, like in Elton's case. This programme can help treat children who suffer in pain but require more than just painkillers." - TODAY
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