St Luke’s Hospital, Lien Foundation pioneer early palliative care through GPs

Palliative care will become increasingly important as Singapore's population ages, says the writer.

Published Oct 27, 2026, 10:10 PM

Updated Oct 27, 2026, 10:10 PM

St Luke’s Hospital launched Opal, a first-of-its-kind outpatient palliative care programme, backed by $2.2 million from the Lien Foundation, to bring support into primary care.

The programme works with GPs and specialists to help more than 1,200 patients over four years, using a six-member team, in-person visits, teleconsultation and a free hotline.

Doctors say it will fill gaps in care for patients with dementia, heart failure and other serious illnesses, while improving quality of life and easing family stress.

SINGAPORE – Patients with life-limiting illnesses and their families can now receive earlier access to coordinated palliative care support, following the launch of a first-of-its-kind outpatient programme at St Luke’s Hospital.

Supported by a $2.2 million funding from the Lien Foundation – a pioneer in advancing palliative care here – the Opal programme shifts the palliative support that is typically given in hospitals, hospices or home into the primary care setting.

More than 90 patients have been referred to the programme based in St Luke’s community clinic, located within the community hospital in Bukit Batok. The hospital currently supports more than 300 palliative care patients annually through its inpatient hospice, palliative care wards and home-based palliative care services.

“As the need for palliative care grows, we cannot rely on specialist services and hospices alone. We must also equip primary care teams to provide general palliative care, alongside patients’ ongoing treatment and before their needs become more complex,” St Luke’s Hospital CEO Tan Boon Yeow said during the launch on Oct 27.

Over the next four years, the Opal team aims to partner with GPs as well as healthcare specialists to support more than 1,200 patients , he said during the event attended by guests including Minister of State for Health Rahayu Mahzam.

The patients are mostly those with illnesses such as dementia, end-stage renal disease, heart failure, and respiratory failture.

The initiative involves a six-member multidisciplinary team made up of two family physicians, two advanced practice nurses, one social worker and one counsellor.

St Luke’s Hospital medical director Andrew Samson said that after a patient receives a referral, a consultation is arranged to access the needs of the patient and the family.

Palliative care support can also be provided via teleconsultation and an office-hour support hotline, at zero cost to the patients . If needed, patients can be referred to appropriate providers, including inpatient hospice care or home-based palliative care.

Dr Lee-Oh Chong Leng, a general practitioner at Mission (Bukit Batok) Medical Clinic, said the programme would help him provide better care for his patients who are facing complications from their conditions and increasing frailty.

“We have to deal with not just the medical problems, but a lot of psychosocial, spiritual problems as well,” he said.

“We have only about 15 to 20 minutes at most per patient. So how do we handle this? That’s a great challenge and a gap in our current management that we face right now.”

He said his long-term patients are often reluctant to leave his care. With the Opal programme, he can continue to manage their conditions while they receive palliative care support to improve their quality of life .

To better support patients in the community, the Opal team has also started to collaborate with the National University Hospital, including the geriatric medicine department.

This enables patients receiving specialist treatment at the acute hospital to have support for care planning as well as psychosocial and caregiving needs.

“Traditionally, for those who with very clear remaining life expectancies, they get referred to hospice services, whether it is home hospice or inpatient hospice, particularly if the prognosis is less than three months,” said the head of NUH’s geriatric medicine division, Matthew Chen.

What the Opal programme is then able to provide is an extension beyond the typical criteria for hospice services in Singapore, he added.

To further extend the impact of the programme , St Luke’s Hospital is actively building collaborations with GPs across the primary care networks, said its CEO Tan.

Dr Lim Chien Chuan, director and clinical lead of the i-CARE Primary Care Network that includes St Luke’s clinic, said: “We have to change the mindset of the doctors that palliative care is part of family care, that we are caring for a patient from birth all the way to the grave.”

With growing acceptance of palliative care, Opal will hopefully enable more people with life-limiting illnesses, such as dementia, to receive such support earlier in the community, instead of waiting till the last stage of an illness , said Lien Foundation’s programme director Luo Ren.

作者指出，随着新加坡人口老龄化，临终关怀将变得越来越重要。

发布于2026年10月27日晚上10:10

更新于2026年10月27日晚上10:10

圣卢克医院推出了 Opal，这是首个此类门诊姑息治疗项目，由 Lien 基金会提供 220 万美元的支持，旨在为基层医疗提供支持。

该计划与全科医生和专科医生合作，在四年内通过六人团队、面对面就诊、远程咨询和免费热线，为 1200 多名患者提供帮助。

医生表示，这将填补痴呆症、心力衰竭和其他严重疾病患者护理方面的空白，同时提高生活质量，减轻家庭压力。

新加坡——圣路加医院推出首个此类门诊项目，使患有危及生命的疾病的患者及其家人能够更早地获得协调的姑息治疗支持。

在 Lien 基金会（本地姑息治疗领域的先驱）提供的 220 万美元资助下，Opal 计划将通常在医院、临终关怀中心或家中提供的姑息治疗支持转移到初级保健机构。

已有超过90名患者被转介至位于武吉巴督社区医院内的圣路加社区诊所接受姑息治疗项目。该医院目前通过其住院临终关怀中心、姑息治疗病房和居家姑息治疗服务，每年为超过300名姑息治疗患者提供支持。

圣路加医院首席执行官陈文耀在10月27日的启动仪式上表示：“随着对姑息治疗的需求不断增长，我们不能仅仅依靠专科服务和临终关怀机构。我们还必须让基层医疗团队能够提供一般的姑息治疗，与患者的持续治疗相结合，并在他们的需求变得更加复杂之前就加以解决。”

在接下来的四年里，Opal 团队的目标是与全科医生和医疗保健专家合作，为 1200 多名患者提供支持。他在出席活动的嘉宾包括卫生部国务部长拉哈尤·马赫扎姆。

这些患者大多患有痴呆症、终末期肾病、心力衰竭和呼吸衰竭等疾病。

该计划涉及一个由六名成员组成的多学科团队，其中包括两名家庭医生、两名高级执业护士、一名社会工作者和一名咨询师。

圣卢克医院医疗主任安德鲁·萨姆森表示，患者收到转诊单后，医院会安排会诊，以评估患者及其家人的需求。

姑息治疗支持还可以通过远程会诊和办公时间支持热线提供，患者无需支付任何费用。如有需要，患者可以被转介到合适的医疗机构，包括住院临终关怀机构或居家姑息治疗机构。

武吉巴督医疗中心的全科医生李五忠医生表示，该计划将帮助他更好地照顾那些因病情并发症和身体日益虚弱而面临困境的患者。

他说：“我们不仅要处理医疗问题，还要处理很多社会心理和精神问题。”

“我们平均每位病人只有15到20分钟的时间。我们该如何应对这种情况？这是我们目前面临的一大挑战，也是我们现有管理体系中的一个漏洞。”

他说，他的长期患者往往不愿离开他的照护。有了Opal项目，他可以在他们接受姑息治疗支持的同时继续控制他们的病情，从而提高他们的生活质量。

为了更好地为社区患者提供支持，Opal 团队也开始与国立大学医院（包括老年医学科）合作。

这使得在急性医院接受专科治疗的患者能够获得护理计划方面的支持，以及社会心理和护理需求方面的支持。

“传统上，对于那些预期寿命非常明确的患者，我们会将他们转介到临终关怀服务机构，无论是居家临终关怀还是住院临终关怀，特别是如果预期寿命不足三个月的话，”新加坡国立大学医院老年医学科主任陈马修说道。

他补充说，Opal计划能够提供的服务超越了新加坡临终关怀服务的典型标准。

圣路加医院首席执行官谭表示，为了进一步扩大该计划的影响，医院正在积极与基层医疗网络中的全科医生建立合作关系。

包括圣路加诊所在内的 i-CARE 初级保健网络的主任兼临床负责人林建泉医生表示：“我们必须改变医生们的观念，即姑息治疗是家庭护理的一部分，我们要从患者出生一直照顾到他去世。”

连氏基金会项目主任罗仁表示，随着人们对姑息治疗的接受度越来越高，Opal有望使更多患有危及生命的疾病（如痴呆症）的人能够在社区更早地获得此类支持，而不是等到疾病的最后阶段。