The Official Opening of CT/ MR Suite and Launch of the MR-Guided Focused Ultrasound Ablation Service

07 Jul 2006

By Mr Heng Chee How, Minister of State for Health

Venue: KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Associate Professor Ivy Ng

Chief Executive Officer, KK Women's and Children's Hospital

Associate Professor Tay Eng Hseon

Chairman (Medical Board), KK Hospital

Prof David Stringer

Head, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, KK Hospital

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

Good Morning. I am pleased to be here today, to be part of this special occasion to mark the opening of KK Hospital's CT/MR Suite and the launch of its MR-guided Focused Ultrasound Ablation Service. KK hospital has certainly come a long way since its beginnings.

History of KK Hospital

The history of KK Hospital goes way back to 1858, when it opened as a general hospital providing medical care to both the Europeans and the locals.  In the late 1800s, it provided compulsory screening and treatment to women with venereal diseases. It was also a home for young girls and women. In 1905, it became the Pauper Hospital for Women and Children, housing female lepers and poor children. In 1924, the hospital was converted into a free maternity hospital - a hospital for the poor who could not afford to pay the medical fees.

Since then, KK Hospital has become synonymous with women and babies, being the birth place of more than 1.2 million babies over the years. (I am sure some of you sitting here are proud to say that you have once been a KKH baby). In 1997, as a natural extension of the services that KK Hospital was providing for women and their babies, paediatric services were introduced. The paediatric services from three national hospitals were centralised at KK Hospital. The new KK Women's and Children's Hospital was born, incorporating Singapore's first and only purpose-built Children's Hospital.

Development of KK Hospital

Over the last eight years, the Children's Hospital has grown from strength to strength. It offers a comprehensive range of specialty services in paediatric medicine and paediatric surgery. Many of these programmes provide high quality care and patient outcome that are ranked among the best in the world. For example, at the Children's Cancer Centre, the cure rate for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the most common childhood cancer, is as high as 80 percent and this is comparable to the best centres in the world.  KK Hospital is also the major tertiary referral centre for paediatric bone marrow transplants and open heart surgery.

Within the Hospital, there are many dedicated, one-stop centres, such as the Children's ENT Centre, and the Cleft and Craniofacial Centre, which had been established with the aim of providing patient-centric care to children in Singapore and the region. With its expertise, the Hospital is well positioned to offer services such as the Children's Emergency Transport Service, which calls for a high level of professional capabilities to transport children from the region to Singapore safely for treatment.

New Services at KK Hospital

In the last one year, we have also seen KK Hospital successfully expanding its services for women beyond obstetrics and gynaecology. Women can now seek specialist treatment in all aspects of breast health, ENT, orthopaedic surgery, plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery; and most recently, sports medicine. It also has a dedicated women's mental health service. I understand that there are also plans for other new services and these include ophthalmology and adolescent medicine.

As Singapore's dedicated women's and children's hospital, it is only natural for KK Hospital to dedicate itself to look after the special healthcare needs of women and children. The Hospital has made a good start. Its efforts to stay at the forefront of technology and to remake itself by introducing new services that enhance its current range of services are indeed commendable.

New MR service and Launch of MR-guided Focused Ultrasound Ablation Service

The MR service is one of the latest services to be offered by KK Hospital. It was started recently, with a $3 million grant from my Ministry under the Health Service Development Programme. With the MR system, KK Hospital will undertake an inter-disciplinary research project involving 500 patients over a 3- year period, to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of MR imaging in the diagnosis and treatment of women's and children's diseases.

The MR service has also enabled KK hospital to introduce the ultrasound ablation service, which is a first in South East Asia. This treatment uses MR imaging and ultrasound waves to perform non-surgical treatment of uterine fibroids. This is an alternative and viable treatment for patients who previously had to undergo invasive and surgical interventions.

Conclusion

On behalf of the Ministry, I urge KK Hospital to continue its good work, and to take the lead in advocating women's and children's health in Singapore as well as in the region. You have what it takes to be a truly world-class hospital for women and children.

Thank you.