Workgroup Set Up to Train Nurses in End-of-Life Care

Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced a new workgroup on July 6 to help train nurses who care for very sick and dying patients. He made the announcement at the Nurses' Merit Award ceremony held at the Shangri-La Singapore. The government had set a goal of training 10,000 nurses in palliative care by 2030, but Minister Ong said the effort has already grown much bigger than he expected. Palliative care means providing comfort and support to people who are seriously ill or near the end of their lives.

The new group is called the Nursing Home-Nursing Professional Development Workgroup. It was set up in January and brings together nurse leaders from nursing homes, community hospitals, and larger hospitals. Its goal is to help nurses in long-term care settings learn new skills. This is important because Singapore's population is getting older, and more people will need this kind of care.

Minister Ong said the training push is much larger than the government planned. During a visit to the National University Hospital, he learned that the hospital alone wants to train 3,100 nurses in basic palliative care skills. Other hospitals have also started their own in-house training programs. Several public healthcare institutions are also helping to train nursing home nurses in end-of-life care and advance care planning.

The minister shared a touching story about a healthcare team that helped a dying elderly man spend his final moments at home. Moving a very sick patient comes with many logistical challenges, but the team made it happen. Ong said this shows how nursing roles are changing as Singapore ages. He said nurses will need to act earlier, work closer to patients' homes, and always show kindness and empathy.

More than 150 nurses from public hospitals, community care, and private hospitals received Nurses' Merit Awards at the ceremony. The awards honor nurses who have made a big difference in their patients' lives. Three of the award winners shared their stories about why they love nursing. Each one found meaning in helping patients during difficult moments.

Vinod Rajandran Muthu, 32, is a nurse manager with the National Kidney Foundation. He originally thought nursing would just be a stepping stone to a career in the Singapore Armed Forces. That changed when he spent time with a patient during a clinical attachment and realized nursing is about human connection. He now finds great reward in watching kidney patients regain confidence and adapt to life with dialysis.

Saqila Ismail, 41, is a nurse manager from the National University Polyclinics. When Bukit Panjang Polyclinic opened in 2021, she noticed that new mothers struggled to get help with breastfeeding. Many had to travel far to hospitals or wait a long time for specialist appointments. She started a pilot program to give mothers quick, easy support at the polyclinic and even trained nurses to become certified lactation consultants.

Jennifer Ting, 36, works as a nurse clinician in emergency medicine at Singapore General Hospital. She said that in emergency care, the very first moment of human contact can make a huge difference for a scared patient. She wants every trauma patient who sees her to feel that someone truly cares about them, not just their injuries. Her story shows how important kindness is, even in the busiest and most intense parts of healthcare.