from straitstimes.com:
New hospice services in Outram mark another big step forward in end-of-life care
SINGAPORE - At day hospice centre Oasis@Outram, cancer patient Allan Wong, 82, is free to do anything he likes. On Wednesday (July 13), he approached Health Minister Ong Ye Kung and asked to have a wefie taken, promptly sending it to his 78-year-old wife.
Mr Ong was there to officiate at
the first-of-its-kind day hospice centre that offers patients the freedom to choose the activities and services they want, instead of a pre-decided programme. It also has a cafe and a bar, unlike conventional centres.
Oasis@Outram, located at Outram Community Hospital, is HCA Hospice's (HCA's) third day hospice. The second, HCA Kang Le Day Hospice, opened officially in late 2014 at the void deck of a block of flats in Marsiling.
The first was launched in 1995 and became known as HCA Day Hospice
@Serangoon, after HCA moved its headquarters to Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital in that area.
The HCA centres offer more than 60 per cent of the day hospice capacity in Singapore, said Mr Ong in his speech.
While the awareness of day hospice services remains relatively low, it is growing. Such services started in 1993, with one centre. The second opened in 1995, and the remaining three sprang up in the past three years, Mr Ong said.
These services play an essential role in end-of life care, an area that the Ministry of Health is prioritising. "We aim to strengthen end-of-life care, to help people maintain quality of life even in their final days, and leave well," he said.
In particular, the model of care at Oasis@Outram, which focuses on the personal growth of patients on the last leg of their life journey and aims to
help reframe the thinking on dying, is one that signals a positive step forward in this area.
It shows how end-of-life care can be brought into the community in a dignified and meaningful way.
Mr Ong said the centre's co-location with Outram Community Hospital offers a continuum of care for palliative care patients transiting from the hospital to home.
Oasis@Outram's day paediatric hospice services are also unique, though it can take in only three patients a day. The space for paediatric patients comes with a ceiling hoist to transport the children to the jacuzzi for a soak.
For the adults, the activities at the new 900 sq m facility include art and craft, horticulture, manicures, movies in a mini-theatre and mahjong in a room that gives off a bit of a casino vibe with its heavy, dark curtains. These are all free for the terminally ill patients, who are referred there.
While many are seniors, some are young people, like 27-year-old Benjamin Lim, who has a brain tumour. He said he was not used to socialising with so many seniors at the start, and would visit the centre twice a week, but now comes as often as five days a week.
HCA's medical director Chong Poh Heng said: "The message is that despite a very serious illness, you can still have a good time... We hope to debunk the myths and some of the fears associated with suffering from a serious illness."
Oasis@Outram, which opens five days a week with a current staff strength of 15, can take up to 48 palliative patients, though it now serves about 30 a day.
HCA chief executive Karen Lee said there is demand for day hospice services generally, though it is not overwhelming. However, manpower constraints are a big challenge.
She said there are plans to extend the opening hours to 7am to 7pm, from about 8.30am to 6pm currently, but that will require another 10 or more staff.
Right now, its Kang Le Day Hospice is full, with up to 22 patients a day, but the Serangoon centre remains temporarily closed, after some patients were moved to Oasis@Outram while others have died.
Mr Wong, who has stage four appendix cancer and lives with his wife, goes to the centre three days a week to socialise, play mahjong or do flower arrangement.
He also teaches others how to use the centre's app to book the activities, and said he was halfway through teaching another patient when she stopped coming.
"She died," he added.
Since Oasis@Outram started operations in July 2021, it has served 173 adult patients and 24 paediatric ones. They stay for an average of 95 days.
The centre is funded and conceptualised by Lien Foundation in collaboration with HCA and other experts in the field.
"For the terminally ill, health may appear to be a futile goal. But that is actually when it matters most. Mental, emotional and spiritual health can provide what the body can't," said Mr Lee Poh Wah, chief executive of Lien Foundation.
"So while it is a hospice day centre, Oasis@Outram is a demonstration project for other eldercare services. Senior day centres and nursing homes should be reimagined as oases - flourishing, life-giving sanctuaries."
Mr Lee said if he has the chance, he would model a centre on the concept of a cruise ship, where there are casinos and lifestyle activities. "Whether you're old or if you're dying, ultimately, I think we are all dying to be delighted," he added.
