DEDICATED TO EXCELLENCE IN DERMATOLOGY AND VENEREOLOGY DERMA VOL 65 ISSUE NO.3 • MAY/JUN 2015 MICA (P) NO. 037/09/2014 DIGEST New Photo-test machines result in reduced treat- ment time Agnes Chong, Senior Staff Nurse Since 1 April 2015, new phototesting machines have been introduced in our Phototherapy clinic to aid the diagnosis and monitoring of photodermatoses. Replacing the heftier Dermaray and Supuvasun Mutzhas, the Daavlin 1-Se- ries and Waldmann UVA700 are now used for BBUVB and UVA phototesting respectively. The considerably smaller Daavlin 1-Se- ries allows nurses to manoeuvre the machine around patients with better ease and speed, while the Waldmann UVA 700 produces far more powerful UVA rays than its predecessor, effec- tively reducing the amount of time for shining by about 30 minutes. Nurse Clinician Sister Tan Yoke Choo said, “These new machines allow our nurses to work more ergonomically, and increase our productivity in treat- ing patients.” The Daavlin 1-Series (left) used for BBUVB phototesting and the Wald- mann UVA 700 machine (right) used for UVA phototesting. NSC Community Outreach Programme – Lending a helping hand to residents of Lorong Lew Lian Nathalie Ng, Corporate Communications Executive The sweltering heat did not deter our volunteers as they spent their Satur- day morning on 23 May to help out at the National Skin Centre’s Community Outreach Programme. The first of such Com- munity Outreach Pro- grammes organised this year, the event is part of the Centre’s purpose to give back to the community in ways that are meaningful and significant in improving the standard of living of the less fortunate. Held at the void decks of Block 6 – 8 of Lorong Lew Lian, a skin assessment booth was set up by our medical team to check residents for any symptoms of skin dis- eases and arrange for necessary follow- up appointments at Polyclinics for further care and management. The volunteers distributed goody bags filled with daily household necessities – such as canned foods, washing liquid and toilet rolls amongst others – to these resi- dents. The team also paid house visits to residents who were unable to go down on their own to receive the goody bags. The volunteers felt that it was a morning enjoyably spent interacting with the resi- dents and at the same time, doing their part in giving back to the community. Sen- ior Resident Dr Benson Yeo said, ´I felt that the outreach programme event was a good opportunity to serve the commu- nity by providing basic skin screening and skin care advice to the residents, besides bringing goodie bags to needy families.” NSC doctors, nurses and administrative staff who volunteered at the event. NSC Director A/Prof Tan Suat Hoon and Hu- man Resource Execu- tive Mr Ang Chin Tiong interacting with one of the residents. Senior Resident Dr Benson Yeo performing skin assess- ment
Transcript
DeDicateD to excellence in Dermatology anD VenereologyDERMA
New Photo-test machines result in reduced treat-ment timeAgnes Chong, Senior Staff Nurse
Since 1 April 2015, new phototesting machines have been introduced in our Phototherapy clinic to aid the diagnosis and monitoring of photodermatoses. Replacing the heftier Dermaray and Supuvasun Mutzhas, the Daavlin 1-Se-ries and Waldmann UVA700 are now used for BBUVB and UVA phototesting respectively. The considerably smaller Daavlin 1-Se-ries allows nurses to manoeuvre the machine around patients with better ease and speed, while the Waldmann UVA 700 produces far more powerful UVA rays than its predecessor, effec-tively reducing the amount of time for shining by about 30 minutes. Nurse Clinician Sister Tan Yoke Choo said, “These new machines allow our nurses to work more ergonomically, and increase our productivity in treat-
ing patients.”
The Daavlin 1-series (left) used for BBuVB phototesting and the Wald-mann uVA 700 machine (right) used for uVA phototesting.
NSC Community Outreach Programme – Lending a helping hand to residents of Lorong Lew LianNathalie Ng, Corporate Communications Executive
The sweltering heat did not deter our volunteers as they spent their Satur-day morning on 23 May to help out at the National Skin Centre’s Community Outreach Programme.
The first of such Com-munity Outreach Pro-grammes organised this year, the event is part of the Centre’s purpose to give back to the community in ways that are meaningful and significant in improving the standard of living of the less fortunate.
Held at the void decks of Block 6 – 8 of Lorong Lew Lian, a skin assessment booth was set up by our medical team to check residents for any symptoms of skin dis-eases and arrange for necessary follow-up appointments at Polyclinics for further care and management. The volunteers distributed goody bags filled with daily household necessities – such as canned foods, washing liquid and toilet rolls amongst others – to these resi-dents. The team also paid house visits to residents who were unable to go down on their own to receive the goody bags.
The volunteers felt that it was a morning enjoyably spent interacting with the resi-dents and at the same time, doing their part in giving back to the community. Sen-ior Resident Dr Benson Yeo said, ´I felt that the outreach programme event was a good opportunity to serve the commu-nity by providing basic skin screening and skin care advice to the residents, besides bringing goodie bags to needy families.”
NsC doctors, nurses and administrative staff who volunteered at the event.
NsC Director A/Prof Tan suat Hoon and Hu-man Resource execu-tive Mr Ang Chin Tiong interacting with one of the residents.
senior Resident Dr Benson Yeo performing skin assess-ment
It was all gleeful smiles and delighted whoops from staff as they won prizes from the six booths set up outside the Staff Lounge on 21 April, NSC’s inaugural annual Safety Awareness Day. Staff members took part in quizzes on various safety implementations and precautions at each booth manned by DSC Clinic, Nursing, Lab/Union, Clinic Operations, General Operations and Pharmacy.
After lunch, co-chairpersons of the Safety Committee, Senior Consultant Dr Chong Wei Sheng and Senior Human Resource Manager Mrs Alice Chew, kicked off the programme with reports on patient and staff safety respectively. This was followed by a talk by NHG’s Group Chief Quality Officer A/Prof Tai Hwei Yee on the importance of establishing a safety culture in an organization.
In her talk, A/Prof Tai commended the Centre for establishing a day to raise awareness among staff on safety in their workplaces, and said that it was a practice she would like to “bring over to other healthcare institutions”.
The event wrapped up with a prize-giving ceremony for the win-ners of the Safety Tagline Competition.
left: Management Associate Mr Chang Jun Hua (in white) demonstrating to NHG’s Group Chief Quality officer A/Prof Tai Hwei Yee on how to use the fire extinguisher while Assis-tant Manger of operations Mr Victor sin looks on.
Right: senior Consultant Dr Chong Wei sheng presenting on the safety report among patients for the past year.
NSC and Apex Harmony Lodge’s joint effort to provide better skin care for residentsSister Wong Bee Yin, Senior Nurse Educator
Apex Harmony Lodge (AHL), a purpose built home for residents with dementia, has joined hands with NSC in an effort to improve the standard of skin care for its residents. Comprising of classroom education ses-sions, skin care assessment and care planning for residents, the half-day ses-sion per month conducted by our Centre’s nurses will start from July 2015 onwards. Apex Harmony Lodge marks the second nursing home that NSC is collaborating with, the first being the Lions Home for the Elderly back in October 2014. Due to positive feedback received as well as a marked improvement of skin condi-tions in residents at the Lions Home for the Elderly, the Centre’s nursing team has decided to widen their reach in order to provide skin education and care to a more nursing homes in Singapore. NSC’s Head of Nursing Ms Brenda Lim said: “We look forward to expanding our efforts in alleviating skin care problems in other nursing homes in Singapore.”
From left: Mr Albert Hong, Chief operating officer of Apex Harmony lodge (AHl), Ms soh Mee Choo, Chief executive officer (AHl), Ms Brenda lim, Head of Nursing (NsC), sister Wong Bee Yin, senior Nurse educator (NsC), nurses from AHl and Mr Ronald lim, Head of organisation & Development (AHl)
What impressed Professor Roderick James Hay most about NSC during his stay here were the Centre’s Electronic Medical Re-cords (EMR) and our level of nursing care.
The Consultant Dermatologist from Kings College Hospital in London admired the comprehensiveness of the EMR system and found the ability to upload photograph-ic images into patient’s medical records “extremely helpful in the treatment and management of the patient.” He also found the standard of nursing care provided here “very well done” and added, “They are very well-organised here.”
Prof Hay, who wears many hats – including Professor of Cutaneous Infection in Kings College London and Chairman of the Inter-national Foundation of Dermatology, vis-ited NSC from 14 – 20 May to observe some of our clinics’ practices and to give a series of lectures to our doctors
Prof Hay noted that the prevailing differ-ence in how medical training is conducted here and back home was the weightage given to two aspects – clinical governance
Professor Roderick James Hay (middle in blue) with NsC Director A/Prof Tan suat Hoon (right) and the NsC medical team
Congratulations to our deserving recipients for NHG recognition awards
and academic training. He found that more emphasis is given to the academic train-ing of doctors here in NSC, whereas “back home, we tend to stress more on how train-ee doctors relate to patients and how they treat them.”
Prof Hay covered an array of topics in his lectures – ranging from recent trends in
Staphylococcal infections of the skin, HIV-related dermatoses, updates on fungal infections of the skin, new perspectives on scabies, to the estimating of global preva-lence and disability of skin diseases and dermatological education from medical school to field study.
Prof Roy Chan was presented with the NHG Distinguished Achievement Award, in recognition of both his invaluable work with the National Skin Centre, and his active participation towards the advancement of Derma-tology and STI in Singapore and the evolvement of AIDS-related issues over the years.
A/Prof Chua Sze Hon received the NHG Outstanding Citizenship Award for his numerous contributions to NSC as Deputy Director, Head of Medical Edu-cation Division, and Chief of Dermato-logical Surgery and Laser Unit.
Mr Peter Lee was presented with the NHG Distinguished Contributor Award for his dedication as member of the NSC Medifund Committee since April 1993 till present. He provided invaluable advice on ways to enhance administra-tion of NSC Medifund assets.
A/Prof Ng See Ket received the NHG Education Leader Award on Teachers’ Day 2014 for his contribution as lead teacher of Medical Officers, Residents, Visiting Clinical Fellows and Dermatol-ogy Senior Residents.
sTAFF NeWs
DeRMA DIGesT • Vol 65 Issue 3 • MAY / JuN 2015
Editorial: Ms Nathalie Ng Advisors: Clinical A/Prof Tan Suat Hoon, Mrs Tang Lee Foon
This is an in-house publication for staff information only. Contents can be quoted or reproduced with permission of National Skin Centre (S) Pte Ltd.
Designed and Printed by : Ease Communications
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From edgy hip-hop street wear to elegant cheongsams to sequined cocktail dresses, staff from all institutions in NHG spared no ex-penses as they dressed themselves according to the one of the six dress codes given at NHG’s 15th Anniver-sary Dinner and Dance held at Re-sorts World Sentosa on 23rd May.
Themed ‘One NHG, One RHS, One Team. Everybody is a Gem’, the evening started off with roving magicians and belly dancers before din-ner. The night opened with an impressive performance by Tang Quartet before an opening address by the NHG Group CEO Prof Phillip Choo. Next, a commemora-tive 15th Anniversary video dedicated to
NHG15 Dinner and Dance – A Dazzling Night where East meets West!Nathalie Ng, Corporate Communications Executive
Continuing Medical Education (CME) EventsDate Title Seminar for Fees
1 Aug 2015 Certificate of Competence: Filters General Practitioners $450* / $500
4-6 Sep 2015 NSC Updates in Dermatology and Venereology General Practitioners $80 - $400
19 Sep 2015 Certificate of Competence: Chemical Peels General Practitioners $450* / $500
10 Oct 2015 NSC Public Forum (Eng & CHn): Let’s be Clear about Rashes Public $5 (Eng) & $5 (Chn)
17 Oct 2015 Certificate of Competence: Laser Hair Removal General Practitioners $450* / $500
* Early bird rate of $450 applies to registrations made at least one month before the workshop.For enquiries on our seminars and public forums, please call the Training Department at Tel: 63508477 or email [email protected].
Go Green with NsC – Read your Derm Digest online. Please email [email protected] to receive email notifications of the latest issue.
From left: senior Residents Dr Teo Wan lin, Dr sarah shen, Dr Benson Yeo, Dr Chen Qi Ping and Dr Chu Yee Fei.
Doctors and managers of NsC dressed to the nines for the night ahead.
Bottom: led by NHG Diagnostics’ executive Director Dr Tyrone Goh (middle) and com-prising of staff from all NHG institutions, ‘Team unbelievable’ cinched the first prize for the NHG Teams Dance Competition.
From left: NsC Director A/Prof Tan suat Hoon and Tan Tock seng Hospital’s Ceo Dr eugene soh performing alongside the urban Dance Crew, which was the closing act of the event.
the NHG family was shown to all guests. Through the rest of the evening, guests were entertained with impressive dance performances by the nine NHG teams, as well as medleys of popular local songs, in commemoration of SG50.
It was a wonderful night of song and dance as NHG cel-ebrated its 15th birthday as well as the nation’s upcom-ing 50th anniversary.
