home 쐽 THE STRAITS TIMES MONDAY, MARCH 30 2009 PAGE B2
MOH to speed
TCM takes
root at
local hospitals
Patients often referred
by doctors for services
to complement
conventional treatment
BY JUDITH TAN
TRADITIONAL Chinese Medicine
(TCM) has dug in at seven hospitals in
Singapore, with demand for treatment
having grown by as many as seven
times at one centre.
The number of patient visits at the
six public hospitals and one private one
has gone up by between 30 per cent
and 750 per cent from the time their
TCM centres opened.
The on-site TCM centres at six pub-
lic hospitals – Alexandra Hospital,
Changi General Hospital, Singapore
General Hospital (SGH), National Uni-
versity Hospital (NUH), Tan Tock Seng
Hospital (TTSH) and Ang Mo Kio Com-
munity Hospital (AMKH) – provide ac-
upuncture and Chinese herbal medi-
cine.
Most times, the patients at these
centres are referred by their Western-
trained doctors for treatments that
complement their ongoing convention-
al treatments.
The most common ailments attend-
ed to are aches and pains – headaches,
neck and back pain and knee pain from
osteoarthritis.
But these TCM centres also treat pa-
ralysis caused by strokes, cancer, drug
allergies and, in some cases, infertility
among men.
Medical cover for foreign
workers may be raised
HEALTH Minister Khaw Boon Wan is
considering raising the amount of insur-
ance that employers must buy for for-
eign workers who are on work permits.
He said the $5,000 minimum, set at
the beginning of last year, might no
longer be adequate.
He made this point at a dialogue yes-
terday when presented with a scenario
involving a maid who had incurred
$10,000 in medical expenses while she
was covered for only half that amount.
Mr Khaw agreed that such cases
were becoming more common and
Mrs Wong May Lee, 68, for exam-
ple, found TCM effective in helping her
regain the use of her left hand, which
was paralysed by a stroke in June
2006.
She said: “My hand was so weak I
could not even hold a spoon to feed my-
self. My doctor recommended me to
Hong Hua TCM Medical Centre at
AMKH for acupuncture. I have since re-
gained some of my strength.”
The 14-year-old Hong Hua was the
first TCM clinic to open in a public hos-
pital.
The newest among the TCM cen-
tres, on the other hand, is the $2.8 mil-
lion Bao Zhong Tang TCM Centre in
SGH, which is barely 11/2 years old.
It has so far seen 145,000 patients,
including cancer patients, said Ms Ay-
res Lau, its marketing manager.
Dr Kong Keng He, who heads the
12-year-old Complementary Integra-
tive Medicine clinic at TTSH, said the
number of patient visits hit nearly
22,000 last year, up from 6,000 in
2000.
He said: “The main reason is the in-
creased awareness and acceptance of
complementary medicine as an adjunct
to conventional treatment among mem-
bers of the public and doctors.”
NUH’s surgeons whose patients
have multiple drug allergies or are in
too-poor physical shape to withstand
high-risk surgery send them on to the
hospital’s Acupuncture Clinic.
Some TCM centres have built up are-
as of specialisation. A spokesman for
the Raffles Chinese Medicine centre in
Raffles Hospital, for example, said its
TCM physicians now treat men with
health and fertility problems.
even shared his own tale of an employ-
er who had gone to see him. Her Filipi-
no maid had died from tuberculosis af-
ter three weeks in an intensive care
unit (ICU).
“For some reason, it was not picked
up at the medical check-up...but what-
ever it was, the poor lady succumbed
to tuberculosis, and spending three
weeks in an ICU is very costly,” he
said. The bill came up to $20,000, he
added.
When the $5,000 threshold was set,
data showed that only one in 10 foreign
TCM practitioners such as Ms Lim Lay Beng use acupuncture and cupping (above) to treat
medical conditions such as diabetes. ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
“They work closely with their West-
ern-trained counterparts to provide
complementary treatments, instilling
confidence in patients for the service,”
she said, noting that business grew 30
per cent between 2007 and last year.
Across the Causeway, TCM provid-
ed by in-hospital centres seems to
have created less of a ripple.
The New Straits Times reported a
week ago that the TCM divisions of
three hospitals – one in Penang and
two in Johor Bahru – did not have any
outpatient units; and each hospital had
only one TCM cancer specialist to han-
dle late-stage cancer patients referred
by the hospital’s oncologists.
The chairman of the Malaysian TCM
workers was racking up bills of more
than $5,000.
Mr Khaw said it was no longer un-
common for that amount to be exceed-
ed. He noted: “We may have to think
about raising $5,000 to something
else. A lot depends on how much the
premium increase will be.”
He said that when he bought cover-
age of up to $20,000 for his own maid,
he found the increase “quite inexpen-
sive”. “It was just an extra few dollars
a month...Pay a few dollars more a
month, you have peace of mind,” he
said.
Mr Khaw then took a quick survey
of the more than 100 people at the dia-
logue, asking for a show of hands from
those who supported a move for higher
insurance cover for foreign workers.
More than half raised their hands.
Seeing the response, he said: “Quite
Practitioners’ Association, Mr Tan Kee
Huat, was reported as having told the
newspaper that only 776 patients, re-
ferred by their doctors, sought TCM
treatment between 2007 and this year.
Chinese medicine was introduced in
the three hospitals in 2007 by the coun-
try’s Health Ministry.
However, the ministry’s traditional
and complementary medicine depart-
ment said its numbers were higher –
more than 14,000 new and follow-up
cases were seen at the hospitals.
The 14,134 cases in its statistics com-
prised 6,653 for acupuncture, 6,598 for
traditional Malay massage and a fur-
ther 883, for herbal medicine.
juditht@sph.com.sg
substantial. We’ll think about that; let
me discuss with (Acting Manpower)
Minister Gan Kim Yong to see how we
should do that.”
Mr Khaw made it clear that the
change would cover all foreign work-
ers, not just maids.
“The scheme applies to all work per-
mit holders, so factories and all will be
covered as well,” he said.
Last year, Singapore had 757,000
work-permit holders, including maids.
When contacted, Madam Margaret
Tan, who pays about $50 a year in in-
surance premiums for her maid, said
the existing minimum of $5,000 was
good enough.
Said the 59-year-old executive:
“I’ve had maids for 20 years and not
once have they needed to use their med-
ical coverage.”
JEREMY AU YONG
up hiring: 4,500
in next 2 years
BY JESSICA JAGANATHAN
THE Ministry of Health (MOH) has hired 1,100
people since the start of the year and there are
still 2,600 vacancies available now.
In all, MOH will take in 4,500 workers for the
public health-care sector in the next two years
instead of over the next five.
This change of plan is aimed at opening up
job options for Singaporeans hit by the econom-
ic downturn, said Health Minister Khaw Boon
Wan yesterday at a dialogue. “I really encourage
Singaporeans – whether you are retrenched or
want to change your career – to consider health
care because it’s a very meaningful job, but of
course, you do need training.”
The 1,100 recent hires – six in 10 of them Sin-
gaporeans – were recruited for nursing, allied
health and administrative positions. About 27
per cent of the locals were above 40.
Ms Chua Siew Tin, 48, was retrenched from
her position as a financial analyst in a multina-
tional corporation last month. Feeling helpless,
she tried for a job across the various sectors. Sin-
gapore General Hospital took her in as a finance
executive almost immediately.
Despite taking 30 per cent pay cut, she is
grateful for the job.
“There are a lot of career advancements in
the health-care sector, so there will be ample op-
portunities to move up the ladder. I also get ex-
posure to a different industry.”
MOH is also funding about 250 training plac-
es for Singaporeans making a mid-career
switch. So far, 93 places have been filled.
Mr Khaw said the health-care sector has
enough jobs for Singaporeans and foreigners and
that it was most important to have the right atti-
tude and the willingness to come forward.
Racial and religious
tension test in June
A NATIONAL exercise will be carried out in June
to test how well prepared community leaders are
in defusing potential racial or religious tensions,
provoked by incidents such as bomb scares or
terrorist attacks.
Chairmen of Inter-Racial and Religious Confi-
dence Circles (IRCCs) will be tested on how
quickly they disseminate information to their re-
ligious and cultural contacts in such situations.
Formed in 2002, IRCCs are led by trained
grassroots volunteers. They promote good ties
among religious and racial groups in their neigh-
bourhoods through discussions and activities.
They also coordinate such organisations in
keeping the peace during times of crisis.
About 87.5 per cent of religious organisations
have become members of IRCCs.
At a dinner for the 84 IRCC chairmen last
night, Minister of Community Development,
Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan thanked
them for their contributions.
“It will not be possible to pre-empt undesira-
ble messages or possible unfortunate misunder-
standings and their potential to incite unrest be-
tween communities. We must therefore work on
building trust and understanding,” he said.
He also called on them to work on integrating
newcomers into Singapore.
TESSA WONG