More than 500 doctors and administrators expected to benefit under the estimated S$1.2 million training programme

Singapore’s largest healthcare provider, SingHealth, the Chandigarh UT Administration and the Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) are collaborating to strengthen healthcare service delivery and management in hospitals in North India. The organisations launched the Temasek Foundation–SingHealth Training-of-Trainers Initiative in New Delhi on October 2, 2009. The S$1.2 million (INR40.8mil) programme is enabled largely by a grant of approximately S$738,000 (INR25mil) from Temasek Foundation, a Singapore-based philanthropic organisation.  Eleven hospitals and healthcare institutions across six states in North India including the Directorate of Health Services in Chandigarh are participating in the 3-year programme.

The initiative focuses on working with experts from Singapore and India to equip healthcare leaders with evidence-based management skills in healthcare policy and practice. More than 500 participants from healthcare institutions in North India are expected to benefit from the series of four customised programmes conducted in Chandigarh, New Delhi and Singapore over the next two years.

Forming “islands of expertise” through knowledge-sharing

Experts from SingHealth and India’s healthcare organisations, as well as some participating faculty from Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, will conduct the programmes, which also includes a four-month immersion-training component for master trainers in Singapore. The initiative aims to train 75 trainers who will subsequently train 150 individuals yearly on evidence-based decision-making in healthcare management. These trainers are expected to form a strategic policy-planning unit that encourages hospital leaders to objectively evaluate competing medical approaches, and enhance the quality of healthcare offerings in India. A committee that comprises of members of CHAI, SingHealth and Temasek Foundation also ensures that future North Indian hospital leaders will apply the imparted skills to evaluate and introduce a range of healthcare services that are affordable, effective and which improve patient safety.

Attending the launch in New Delhi, Mr Benedict Cheong, Chief Executive Officer, Temasek Foundation said: “Enhancing regional healthcare standards through the training and empowerment of healthcare professionals is a core focus area for Temasek Foundation. We hope this initiative is a positive step towards equipping healthcare leaders with the right expertise to better serve their respective communities.”

Professor Soo Khee Chee, Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Research and Education), SingHealth and Director of the National Cancer Centre, Singapore said: “We are excited to be part of this knowledge-sharing with our counterparts in North India. Health policy planning is a complex area of discussion. However the application of modern scientific and systematic methods allows healthcare leaders to better generate innovation in service delivery, better utilise resources and customise services to meet patients’ needs. We are very glad to share this expertise harnessed through SingHealth’s regional and international exposure. By training the trainers, we aim to create a greater multiplier effect and form “islands of expertise” so that a larger community of influencers can further enhance healthcare standards in India and the region.”  

Customised workshops to tackle current challenges

More than 60 leadership personnel of North India’s healthcare institutions benefited from the first series of strategic healthcare leadership and trainers’ workshops conducted in May and June this year. Customised to the needs of each participant’s institution, these initial workshops prompted healthcare leaders to identify specific areas for improvement for future training workshops. Areas discussed include raising the standards of treatment protocols based on the best medical evidence available, structuring the procurement process for medical equipment and services, and harnessing economies of scale to contain healthcare costs.

Dr Thalakkotur Lazar Mathew, project director of the Temasek Foundation–SingHealth Training-of-Trainers Initiative in North India and project director of CHAI said: “We see great potential in emulating Singapore’s successful model of healthcare in India. Through the widespread training of hospital leaders in structured healthcare management, we hope to better utilise scarce resources and improve healthcare for patients. This is only the beginning of a meaningful collaboration that will bring healthcare standards in India to greater heights.”  

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Serene Ng
Group Communications
Singapore Health Services
DID:        +65-6557 4950
E-mail: serene.ng.sining@singhealth.com.sg