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SINGAPORE: Singapore now has a new centre to study the care for those dying from terminal illnesses.
Called the Lien Centre for Palliative Care, the S$10 million facility is Asia's first palliative care research and training centre.
Lien Foundation contributed S$7.5 million, which is matched dollar-for-dollar by the government. As the centre will only be using S$10 million, the remaining S$5 million will be put into an endowment fund.
For a start, the centre will be focusing on the social, psychological and cultural issues that affect how Singaporeans are caring for those who are dying.
The centre will bring in expertise from various medical institutions in Singapore, which include the new Duke-NUS Medical School, National Cancer Centre, SingHealth and the Lien Foundation.
Experts said even though palliative care started in Singapore more than 20 years ago, not much is known about it, especially on how the terminally ill are being looked after under hospice home care.
Dr Cynthia Goh, Director of Lien Centre for Palliative Care, said: "We have a lot of people under hospice home care at the moment. We don't know how well these needs are being served. We don't know whether the standard of care is good or what are the areas that need to be improved.
"So part of the research is really to look at exactly what we are doing and match it to what the patients think they need, and what their families think they need."
She added that up to three-quarters of those dying from cancer are under home hospice services, so understanding their needs would mean better care.
Another area that the centre will focus on is clinical trials for treating symptoms like pain and breathlessness.
Through research, the centre aims to raise awareness of the cultural differences in attitudes and beliefs towards those who are dying.
In future, the centre aims to have more trained professionals in palliative care and research. With that target, it will also support the Health Ministry's aim to grow palliative medicine into an attractive and effective medical sub-specialty.
- CNA/so
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