OPENING REMARKS BY DR KOH POH KOON, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF HEALTH AT THE ASIA CONTINENCE NURSING CONGRESS 2021 ON 23 OCTOBER 2021

Dr Lim Jit Fong, President of the Society for Continence Singapore

Ms Heng Lee Choo, Organising Chairperson of the Congress

Ladies and gentlemen

1.     Greetings to all of you. I am happy to join you at the inaugural Asia Continence Nursing Congress today.

2.     Being able to control bladder and bowel functions is regarded as an important aspect of a person’s physical and mental wellbeing throughout all phases of life. Maintaining continence preserves an individual’s dignity and quality of life. Therefore, when incontinence develops, the patient and their loved ones suffer in their mental, social and physical health. 

3.     The Society for Continence Singapore has been advocating for sufferers of incontinence for the past 30 years. Thank you for doing this important work. It continues to raise awareness of incontinence today. Among the many programmes that the society runs regularly, nursing education programmes remain a key and important effort. 

4.     The care of incontinent patients is often described as an “all hands on deck” approach; involving doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, medical social workers and caregivers. Among these, nurses are central to the delivery of care to the sufferers, often acting as the important bridge to link the patient up with various healthcare professionals such as the doctors, pharmacists and physiotherapists. 

5.     With the rapid advancements in medical science, care of the incontinent has and will continue to evolve. In Singapore, we have to embrace new knowledge and best practices from around the world, in order to improve our care of the incontinent.

6.     The Asia Continence Nursing Congress 2021 is unique in many ways. It is the first nursing-centred conference organised in Singapore that focuses on the topic of urinary and faecal incontinence. It aims to bring together leaders in nursing education and practice from Singapore as well as around Asia, to share best practices in the management of incontinence. This will make the conference especially educational and informative, with sharing of knowledge and best practices by nurses from various care-settings and different countries. The congress also mark the beginning of future interactions and collaboration to improve the care of the incontinent sufferers around the world. I hope that all of you will bring back new knowledge to help you better care for your patients. I hope through the conference, you will also make new friends and create new networks of interactions. 

7.     My sincere congratulations to the Society for Continence Singapore and all the people who have worked hard to organise this exciting and engaging congress. I am sure all of you will enjoy the sessions and I hope to see you in Singapore in the near future. 

8.     Thank you and enjoy the conference.