Speech by Minister of State for Health, Dr Amy Khor, at the Opening Ceremony of SGH 20th Annual Scientific Meeting, on 5 April 2013

Professor Ivy Ng, Group Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Health Services,

Professor Ang Chong Lye, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Health Services & Chief Executive Officer, Singapore General Hospital,

Professor Fong Kok Yong, Chairman, Medical Board, Singapore General Hospital,

Professor Sir Keith Peters, Emeritus Regius Professor of Physic, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

Academic Medicine in Singapore and SingHealth

1.         I am pleased to join you this morning at the opening of the SGH 20^th Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM). The theme for this year’s ASM is one that is close to my heart as better patient outcomes is what we constantly strive for. It is also the reason why you are in public healthcare and chose the medical profession.

2.         While we have achieved good basic healthcare, Singapore’s demographics is changing and healthcare needs are getting increasingly complex. To meet these challenges and to further improve patient outcomes, we need to have a better scientific understanding of the diseases that afflict our patients, in order to develop better and more efficient care. The focus on Academic Medicine, comprising Biomedical Research and Healthcare Education, allows us to achieve this.

3.         As an Academic Healthcare Cluster, SingHealth, with its flagship hospital SGH, have the breadth and depth to be a thought leader in bio-medicine. Together with its academic partner Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, SingHealth is well-placed to embark on biomedical research to spur innovations, and to drive education efforts to enhance knowledge and improve patient outcomes.

Research Growth in Singapore

4.         The Government is committed to providing improved, more cost-effective diagnoses and treatments for our patients, and ensuring that research supports this objective. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest $3.7 billion in Biomedical Sciences research. This represents a 15% increase from the $3.2 billion allocated for 2006 to 2010. The aim is to further strengthen the basic biomedical sciences and healthcare research capabilities and translate basic science discoveries into meaningful applications for our patients.

5.         One successful example of an impactful application is by the team led by Dr Ong Sin Tiong from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Dr Yijun Ruan from the Genome Institute of Singapore. The team found a solution to tackle the problem of a gene mutation that decreases the effectiveness of selected cancer drugs. They uncovered a gene variant that caused resistance to cancer drug in certain lung and blood cancers patients. This gene variation shows up in about 15 per cent of East Asians but does not surface at all in Caucasians and Africans. The team also found another drug to restore the ability to kill cancer cells. The findings were published in Nature Medicine, one of the world's top biomedical journals in March 2012.

6.         This highlights the importance of collaboration in facilitating the translation of research findings into better treatment for patients. Collaborations are of course not confined to local partners. I am delighted to learn of the numerous trials by a collaborative research group that Clinician Scientist, Professor Pierce Chow co-founded. Professor Chow, in working together with clinicians from countries in the region such as Korea, Malaysia and Myanmar, discovered that combining two existing therapies for patients with inoperable liver cancer that has spread can potentially extend their life span by nine months or more. With the encouraging results of this trial, the group pressed on and started a 360-patient phase III trial to determine which of these two efficacious therapies would help patients survive longer and be the first line therapy in locally advanced liver cancer.

Grooming Research Talent

7.         The key thought leaders in using research and innovation to improve patient outcomes are Clinician Scientists. Students from the Medical Schools in the two Academic Medical Centres – Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLL-SOM) and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS), who display interest and ability for research are groomed to take on these roles. The National Medical Research Council, which oversees the development and advancement of medical research in Singapore, has to date, helped develop over 100 Clinician Scientists through awards and fellowships. I am pleased to note that SingHealth and Duke-NUS are playing major roles in our efforts to train local talent.

Transformation of Education

8.         Aside from grooming research talent, SingHealth also undertakes to educate and deliver the next generation of the nation’s healthcare talent. Education is not just about the passing on of skills and knowledge. It is also about guiding the moral compass of our healthcare students, and reinforcing the ethos of being in public healthcare.

9.         Increasingly, clinical education will impress upon our medical students the need to possess the spirit of inquiry while reinforcing the importance of truly listening to a patient and showing empathy. I’m heartened that the plenary lecture today by Professor Helen Riess will be on Humanising Healthcare Education and Delivery as we must never underestimate or forget the importance of the human touch.

10.       Besides being a clinical training ground for the YLL-SOM and Duke-NUS students, SingHealth will also support the education needs for the third medical school, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. The new medical school will see its first intake in August this year and is expected to admit approximately 150 new students annually to address the increasing demands on our healthcare system.

11.       In September last year, SingHealth and Duke-NUS launched the Academic Medicine Education Institute (AM.EI) to train clinician educators to be better teachers. The AM.EI will also be the enabler of a vibrant community where our passionate educators can share information and best practices with each other.

Closing

12.       The Academic Medicine journey is a necessary one as we continue to strive to improve patients’ lives and outcomes. Leadership plays a vital role in setting the direction and driving academic medicine efforts. More resources will be provided to bring together clinical services, innovative research and education to transform and enhance models of care. For example, The Academia, scheduled to open in July this year, will provide a platform to bring together Pathology services, Education, and Research, under one roof.

13.       Also crucial to the success of an academic healthcare cluster is a culture that recognises research and education as the main drivers that improve patient outcomes and thus prioritises these pursuits.

14.       It is only when we constantly ask questions and have the spirit of inquiry that we can continue to push the frontier and as SingHealth’s vision states, Define Tomorrow’s Medicine. I wish you a fruitful and enriching meeting, to Define Tomorrow’s Medicine for better patient outcomes. Thank you.