Speech By Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister For Social And Family Development and Second Minister For Health At The International Allied Health Conference

Mr Chua Song Khim, Deputy Chief Executive, National University Health System (NUHS)

Adjunct Associate Professor Michael Ong, Group Director, Allied Health, NUHS & Conference Convener

Distinguished speakers and guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1.            Good morning. Today is a momentous occasion for Singapore. We are proud to host, for the first time, the International Allied Health Conference (IAHC), alongside the third Singapore Allied Health Conference. I must commend the National University Health System for organising this event, with the support of Singapore Health Services and the National Healthcare Group. Your efforts exemplify the spirit of collaboration that is so crucial in our healthcare ecosystem.

2.            The theme of this conference "Advancing Allied Health: Diverse in Calling, United in Purpose" reminds us that while we may have different areas of expertise, we are bound by a common mission. You may be an occupational therapist, podiatrist, radiographer or medical lab technologist, but we are all working towards the same goal - to advance healthcare across the care continuum, not just in Singapore, but globally. I know this because I was a patient too.

3.            In the past five years, our Allied Health and Pharmacy workforce has grown by about 30%. We have also increased local allied health intakes to meet the allied health needs. For example, the first batch of Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT)-trained Dietitians and Speech Therapists graduated last year and this year respectively. This growth underscores the critical role you play in patient care. They are not just numbers. They signify the capabilities that have been built over time. It is about the impact you make in the lives of Singaporeans every day.

4.            As our healthcare landscape evolves, we will need a clear strategy, strong leadership, and a spirit of innovation – locally and globally – to drive the Allied Health and Pharmacy professions forward.

Advancing the Practice of Allied Health and Pharmacy in Singapore

5.            First, we need a clear strategy that guides allied health and pharmacy professionals as they go about providing their services.

a.    In line with this, the Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) implemented the National Pharmacy Strategy (NPS) in 2015. The NPS sets out clearly what our strategy is in approaching pharmacy services.

b.    Our aim is to make pharmacy services accessible, affordable and quality-focused, and to provide safer and more integrated care for patients and clients.

c.    We envision pharmacy services that prioritise improving population health, advancing preventive care within communities and promoting safe and effective medication use, with pharmacists playing an active role in care integration.

d.    Aligning with the shifts in healthcare transformation, the NPS adopts a holistic approach through five key thrusts: (i) Pharmaceutical Care Excellence; (ii) Confident Pharmacy Workforce; (iii) Re-design of Supply Chain; (iv) Information Enablement; and, (v) Technology Enablement.

6.            On the Allied Health front, we are engaging the allied health professionals (AHPs) in developing a national strategy to help them play their role in our healthcare system with a common understanding of the focus areas and transformation needed to meet national initiatives such as Healthier SG and Age Well SG. This strategy will guide AHPs to handle future challenges and improve population outcomes. We will share more details with our allied health colleagues when the strategy is firmed up, in 2025. But let me assure you, we are not standing still while this strategy takes shape. Even as we speak, work continues.

7.            Second, we need strong leaders who will be able to advance the profession boldly.

a.    A strategy is only as good as those who are implementing it.

b.    That is why we have introduced the Pharmacy Leadership Development Strategy to ensure that we are cultivating leaders who can drive change, navigate diverse challenges, and seize opportunities in this evolving field. As clinical and leadership roles expand in scope, we want to make sure our people are ready to lead in healthcare ecosystems.

8.            Lastly, we must cultivate a spirit of innovation in rethinking ways to provide better care. AHPs and pharmacists have always risen to this challenge.

a.    For example, Dr Jenny Loo, Head Audiologist from the National University Hospital (NUH) and Programme Director for NUS Master of Science (Audiology), has been leading her team to successfully extend audiology services into Active Ageing Centres across Singapore by implementing innovative booth-less audiometry method on a mobile trolley. Audiology services are traditionally provided in hospital clinics that use booths for hearing tests. Faced with our ageing population, growing patient load and waiting times in the hospital, Dr Loo and her team decided that they had to go beyond hospital walls to help those who had problems hearing. With their new model, a small team of audiology staff can rove between polyclinics and provide hearing care services to more clients in the community. Patients and clients do not have to keep visiting the hospitals, and the audiologists are able to triage cases more effectively to ENT specialists.

b.    This spirit of innovation and collaboration extends beyond individual initiatives. A good example of this is EatSafe SG, a national effort led by speech therapists and dietitians and comprises AIC and community partners. The initiative is a game-changer in ensuring patient safety. It reduces ambiguity when communicating diet or fluid related texture and information for individuals with swallowing difficulties across the care continuum including nursing homes. The team developed a comprehensive implementation framework, worked with academic institutions to include this in the curriculum, and included EatSafe SG Standards under the Healthcare Services Act and centre-based requirements as a standard requirement. These changes involved around 55,000 people from different functions, backgrounds, and settings with varied processes, structures and competencies. These included doctors, nurses, speech therapists, dietitians, food service and kitchen staff, students and other healthcare professionals from various healthcare sectors in Singapore.

c.    This spirit of innovation extends to our pharmacists as well. At Singapore General Hospital, both the Pharmacy and Physiotherapy Departments are using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to enhance patient care. The Pharmacy Department has been using RPA to transcribe and process medication orders, processing nearly 600 orders daily with accuracy. The Physiotherapy Department is also using RPA to automate the collection and analysis of important patient-reported outcomes. This has saved over 80,000 minutes of manual work, allowing physiotherapists to spend more time with patients and clients. This is the future of healthcare – one where we leverage technology to make care more precise, efficient and patient-focused.

9.            These are commendable efforts that have been made in advancing allied health and pharmacy services in Singapore but must be complemented by a strong foundation of education and training for our professionals, that imbues them with the needed capabilities to manage the challenges in the industry.

Advancing Allied Health and Pharmacy Education in Singapore

10.         I am pleased to share that MOH has worked with industry leaders and together, we have made significant strides in defining the future of Allied Health education.

11.         Beginning with future professionals who are pursuing their undergraduate or postgraduate education. we have outlined Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) for six Allied Health professions.

a.    These EPAs are not just a list of tasks or an academic exercise. They are a common language that describes what we can entrust to our entry-level graduates and have been integrated into the curricula of two local universities and a private education institution.

b.    What does this mean for Allied Health? It means that our graduates will start work not just with knowledge, but with the practical competencies needed to make an immediate impact to patient care.

c.    For Pharmacy, training and assessment have also been revised to adopt professional activities that help to scaffold the development of pre-registration pharmacist from undergraduate to postgraduate levels, so as to help them meet the requirements for registration as pharmacists.

12.         The Institutes of Higher Learning have come alongside us and partnered us on this.

a.    A few years ago, SIT introduced new university-wide modules on design and systems thinking, as well as Artificial Intelligence. This move is intended to ensure that graduates are digitally savvy and innovative thinkers, prepared for the jobs of today and the challenges of tomorrow.

b.    Similarly, the National University of Singapore (NUS) is evolving its programmes in Pharmacy and Audiology. In 2020, the NUS introduced the Bachelor of Pharmacy curriculum by integrating basic, clinical, and systems sciences and including experiential learning from the first year of pharmacy education to allow students to apply their knowledge in real-world settings right from the start of their education. The booth-less audiometry testing developed by Dr Jenny Loo, which I had mentioned earlier, has also been included into the Master of Audiology curriculum. These show progress towards ensuring our future pharmacists and audiologists are well-equipped to meet the evolving demands in healthcare.

13.         Ladies and gentlemen, our commitment to education does not stop at graduation. The Singapore Allied Health Professions Council is introducing a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) framework for our AHPs.

a.    Come 2026, CPE requirements will have to be met for AHPs to renew their Practising Certificates. This ensures that our AHPs continue to grow throughout their careers and underscores our commitment to maintaining and improving practice standards across registered AHPs in all sectors.

14.         Beyond this, we are also actively raising awareness and promoting Allied Health professions, especially those that are smaller in numbers and lesser known to the public. We will continue to focus on ensuring good career prospects, opportunities for professional development, and a conducive workplace environment.

a.    For our in-service professionals, the MOH Community Rehabilitation Transformation Workgroup has developed the Singapore Allied Health Workplace Learning and Support Framework, and we are working with various healthcare organisations to trial its use. This framework guides what allied health workers and organisations should do in the areas of (i) access to learning opportunities, (ii) fostering a strong learning culture, (iii) promoting worker wellbeing, (iv) maintaining high-quality support, and (v) driving continuous improvement. It ensures that every allied health worker, from fresh graduates to seasoned professionals, has equal opportunities to grow and excel regardless of their stage of career.

A United Purpose

15.         As I look around this room, I see such a diverse group of professionals. Yet what strikes me is not our differences, but our singular, shared purpose to deliver quality care to our patients and clients, and improve lives. I challenge you to embrace the spirit of collaboration and innovation that has brought us here today. A vibrant global community of allied health and pharmacists depends on ideas we seed today. 

16.         I wish you an enriching and transformative experience ahead. Thank you.