Crucial to respect the faiths of patients

29 Nov 2007, The Straits Times

Question

Name of the Person: Dr Tan Chek Wee

Community hospitals must not aid conversions

I AM a primary health-care doctor involved in the care of older people in the community.

Sometime last year, I referred a woman under my care to a Christian-supported community hospital for rehabilitative care. Not long after she was discharged, she came to see me and expressed confusion over her faith.

She said that she was visited by young people whom she said were related to the staff in the community hospital, bearing gifts and repeatedly asking her to convert to Christianity.

She said she has been a devotee of Kwan Yin (the Goddess of Mercy) for most of her life and it was hard to give it up. I told her that whatever gave her peace of mind would be the 'right' religion.

Some time later, she said that she had decided to stick to Kwan Yin and had politely asked the young people not to visit her again.

Recently, she was admitted to the same hospital for convalescence from a life-threatening accident. During her stay there, she experienced much physical discomfort and fear.

She was approached by a woman staff member who told her that it was God who saved her from death during the accident. She decided to convert. However, she said she would try to postpone the baptism.

The holistic management of an older person includes a spiritual component. Hence pastoral care in a community hospital is important.

However, those engaged in pastoral care must be trained to empower a patient to draw on his religious affiliation to deal with the physical suffering. It should not be an opportunity to convert the patient to the religion of the sponsoring organisation.

In the past, I allayed the occasional concern expressed by either a patient or the caregivers on the possibility of religious conversion in a community hospital. I am not so sure if I could now give the same assurance.

I appeal to the Ministry of Health to come out with guidelines on pastoral care for all the community hospitals so that the religious affiliation of patients is respected and protected.

There must not be any coercion to convert to another religion, especially when one is in pain and vulnerable.

Reply

Reply from MOH 

Crucial to respect the faiths of patients

The Ministry of Health (MOH) fully agrees that a patient's religious affiliation should be respected and there should not be any pressure, subtle or otherwise, to convert patients to another religion, as noted by Dr Tan Chek Wee in "Community hospitals must not aid conversions" (ST, 22 Nov 07).

MOH regularly reminds all our doctors and care providers that proselytisation is not allowed and that they must not act in any way that can give rise to any public perception that they have any special advantage through their special relationship with patients. MOH expects them to exercise mutual respect for all religions and to conduct themselves in a manner that upholds the integrity of their profession.

Healthcare institutions, including community hospitals and nursing homes, are also obliged to ensure that all pastoral care staff as well as volunteers respect the religious affiliations of all patients and do not conduct any canvassing activities of a religious nature. MOH will continue to work together with our various healthcare partners to ensure that in providing holistic care to patients, the religious affinity of patients are respected at all times.