Working Towards a Healthy Health Family

19 Feb 2004

In line with one of the Ministry of Health's key priorities to "Build A Healthy Population", MOH is striving to lead by example, by building a healthy health family.

Having a healthy staff population - both body and mind - has long been a key objective for the Ministry of Health. In 2000, a Health Promotion Committee (HPC) was set up to promote healthy lifestyle among MOH HQ staff. The hospitals have also respectively made various efforts toward this cause.

To focus the entire Ministry's efforts, from this year onwards, the HPC will be expanded to include the National Healthcare Group, SingHealth, Health Promotion Board and Health Sciences Authority, to form a mega - "Health Family Health Promotion Committee". This will provide the platform for the various members of the MOH family to share ideas and best practices in health promotion, and to spur each other on. It will also be the vehicle through which the MOH family will organise more healthy lifestyle activities for the whole health family to foster more interaction and team spirit amongst our staff.

Said Dr Raymond Chua, Chairman of the Health Family Health Promotion Committee:

"The Health Family Health Promotion Committee will be launching new initiatives and programmes to tangibly demonstrate that we in the MOH family are serious, committed and motivated in adopting and leading a healthy lifestyle. We want to get everyone involved, the Minister, management, staff - everybody. Leading a healthy lifestyle need not be painful or boring. It can be great fun! 'Do as I do, get up and get fit' - that's our message!"

The Inter-Institution Bowling Tournament on 19 Feb 04 is the first of such activities for the MOH family, to start the ball rolling. Many other inter-institution sporting events will follow. The MOH family will also be participating actively in public sporting events, such the New Paper Big Walk, the Army Half-Marathon, the SSO Walk-a-Jog, and the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge, with special emphasis placed on helping our staff train up for these events. The annual MOH ACTIVE DAY this year will be a mega event, bringing together staff from MOH HQ, the 2 healthcare clusters and 2 statutory boards.

We want to urge Singapore: Do as we do, get up and get fit.