Dear Partners and Friends,
The concept of population health is not new, especially to care providers on the ground. With the recent announcement of the national Healthier SG strategy, preventing ill health and providing earlier interventions will become ever more important. Such goals can be achieved by anchoring care in the community.
In this issue, we look at system-level transformations by NHG and TTSH to enable better care delivery and partnerships across Central Singapore, as well as how the TTSH Ang Mo Kio Specialist Centre has created new models of care and workflows with primary care for more effective care in the community.
Population health management goes beyond the provision of healthcare. Social and economic factors contribute up to 40% of an individual’s health outcomes. Therefore even more important is the social support that residents receive from agencies, volunteers and their neighbours. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth’s SG Cares Office has established Volunteer Centres across neighbourhoods to strengthen partnerships and provide more integrated support to their local residents, while the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s Social Service Offices reach out to support families through their ComLink programme.
Achieving population health goals cannot be done in silo; it takes many hands to come together to keep the population healthy and to meet the diverse care needs of an equally diverse population. This will only be possible through the strong partnerships we have built over the years, as we work towards driving better health for Singapore.
Yours Truly,
Loh Shu Ching
Executive Director,
Division for Central Health
Tan Tock Seng Hospital & Central Health
