2008 Media Releases

Bringing Basic Cancer Treatment To Neighbourhood Clinics
Wednesday, 15 August 2007

Singapore, 15 August 2007 - Cancer patients can now go for basic treatment at approved clinics in the vicinity of their homes. A formal network of general medical practitioners (GPs) has been established by Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) to provide non-acute treatment to these patients. This network is named Family Physicians Cancer Network (FAMCAN).

This project is a joint initiative by NCCS and the Department of Family Medicine and Continuing Care of SGH.

The target is to appoint as many as 1500 GP clinics as satellite centres where patients can turn to for primary cancer treatment, such as treatment of side effects of cancer treatment, care of oncology devices and catheters. This programme allows GPs to have continual skills and knowledge equipping in NCCS through a planned training schedule, direct access to oncology specialists and attachments in the ambulatory treatment unit in NCCS.

To-date, there are about 200 GPs registered on the network who are actively participating in training symposiums and attachments in NCCS and by December 2007 it is hoped that at least 400 more will be added. About 10 dedicated GPs through FAMCAN have also teamed up with hospice home care groups to help attend to terminally ill cancer patients in patients’ homes.

“This project offers mutual advantage to all the parties concerned,” said Dr Donald Poon who is the Project Coordinator, and a Consultant at the Department of Medical Oncology NCCS. “ For the patients, it means convenience for themselves and family members, shorter travel time and faster turnaround at the clinic, and a savings in cost. For example, a patient who travels on a taxi from Bedok to NCCS for a simple prescription of anti-vomiting or anti-diarrhoea medicine will spend about $50, compared to $15 spent if he receives the same medication from his GP within walking distance from home. For the family physicians, it means providing value-added service to their patients, an enlargement of their patient pool and definitely greater job satisfaction. To NCCS, it will lighten the demands on the oncologists and other healthcare professionals so that they can tend to the more serious cases,” he added.

Dr Poon assured that this project would not in any way result in a drop in the quality of medical care for the patients. “There are some treatment and procedures which can be handled by any doctor and not just a specialist. In such cases, going to the GP who has also been trained to handle giving step down cancer care would be more than sufficient to meet the patient’s needs,” he explained.

“We are moving towards a better model where patients and their caregivers should be empowered to take on a more active role in managing their own chronic diseases including cancer. Many cancer patients can be treated in the community with care and support provided by the family doctors. We see the family doctors as the vital component in this initiative to integrate care for our patients. By bringing the continuity of care into the community, many cancer patients can actively participate in the management of their health matters and not be completely dependent on healthcare workers. They can have a good quality of life,” said Dr Lee Kheng Hock, Head of SGH Department of Family Medicine and Continuing Care.

All the GPs will in any case have direct access to the medical oncologists at NCCS, and they can call them directly for consultation if there is a need to do so. The GPs can directly refer the patients to the NCCS clinics should it be necessary. This applies also to new patients who have never been treated at NCCS.

GPs who attend FAMCAN training sessions regularly will become preferred partners of NCCS in this project. The Breast Cancer Symposium for GPs to be held at NCCS on Saturday 18 August 2007 at 2pm will be the first of many such sessions in the FAMCAN series. Applications are still open for those who want to sign up for the FAMCAN training programme.

“Gradually, we hope to further share knowledge and skills with our preferred GP partners so that they will be confident in managing patients with other common types of cancer as well, such as lung and colorectal cancers. All the three major cancers will be covered by the FAMCAN training series,” added Dr Poon.

Dr Poon urged GPs to register for the training and to get themselves onto the list of preferred clinics.

Cancer is the number one cause of death in Singapore. In 2005, nearly 26.4% of total deaths in Singapore were caused by cancer. Between 1998 -2002, the occurrence of Breast and Lung Cancer was the most frequent among women and men respectively, with Colorectal Cancer being the second-most frequent cancer.

About NCCS
The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) is premier cancer research and treatment facility in Singapore and in the region. It was established in 1997 and sees about 68 per cent of the public sector medical oncology cases and 74 per cent of radiation oncology cases. NCCS not only houses the most number of oncologists in Singapore but is also equipped with the largest number of equipment to provide the latest radiation oncology care in Singapore. For more information, visit NCCS website at www.nccs.com.sg

About SGH
The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is the largest acute tertiary hospital and national referral centre in Singapore. With 1,500 acute beds and a pool of 550 specialists, the hospital treats about 70,000 inpatients and 600,000 outpatients yearly. Together with five national specialty centres located within the SGH campus, patients have ready access to 35 specialty services. SGH is also a centre of medical education and research for innovative treatments, capitalising on its multi-disciplinary capabilities and research affiliations to augment care delivery to patients. For more information, visit SGH at www.sgh.com.sg

For further information, please contact:

Sunny Wee
Media & Community Relations Advisor,
Corporate Communications
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Tel. 92746922

Adeline Teo
Executive, Corporate Communications
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Tel. 62369429 / 81257251

Angela Ng
Manager, Corporate Communications
Singapore General Hospital
Tel. 63214325 / 81251704

For more details, photos and media interviews on the above, please click [here].