media release

Launch of Singapore Community of Practice in Social Prescribing for Learners and Practitioners

From L-R: Dr Michael Wong, Group Director, SingHealth Regional Health System; Mr Jeremy Mok, Senior Centre Manager, Lions Befrienders; Mr Tan Kwang Cheak, CEO, Agency for Integrated Care; Prof Lee Chien Earn, Deputy Group CEO, SingHealth Regional Health System; Ms Karen Neo, Centre Coordinator, AMKFSC Community Services; A/Prof Lee Kheng Hock, Deputy CEO (Education and Community Partnerships), SingHealth Community Hospitals

Singapore, 22 August 2023 – Singapore's first Community of Practice (COP) dedicated to Social Prescribing learners and practitioners was launched at the Social Prescribing Masterclass with International Experts on 22 August 2023.

Recognising that it takes more than medicine to address the complex needs of our ageing population, SingHealth Community Hospitals (SCH) pioneered the practice of Social Prescribing in Singapore in 2019 and has been including social prescriptions into the care plans for its community hospital patients.

Social Prescribing is a structured way of improving health outcomes by linking patients to activities, resources and interest groups in the community, optimising their social determinants of health.

SCH, in partnership with the SingHealth Regional Health System (RHS), also strives to focus on the strength of an individual instead of just addressing his social deficit to achieve health in its Social Prescribing approach. Taking a patient-centric approach guides the team to focus on 'what matters to the patient' instead of 'what's the matter with the patient', and the hope is for patients to be able to envision what a good life would look like for themselves, and work closely with health and social care providers to achieve it.

The newly launched COP in Social Prescribing supports this mission, and it represents the next step forward in advancing and establishing Social Prescribing practices locally.

More are adopting social prescriptions into care plans to benefit seniors
The number of health and social care employees who are including social prescriptions into their scope of work is expected to rise, with SCH's training arm, the SCH Office of Learning (SCHOOL), equipping more health, social and community care workers with the relevant set of competencies and skills for Social Prescribing.

Furthermore, SCHOOL recently partnered with the Agency for Integrated Care Singapore (AIC) to deliver training to employees of Active Ageing Centres (AACs) progressively with Social Prescribing skillsets, in line with the nationwide Healthier SG strategy for preventive care. To date, a total of 388 AAC employees have been trained in the "Introduction to Social Connector for Social and Lifestyle Interventions" course.

"As we train more individuals in the sector and build on our mission to have health and social care truly in-sync, there is a need to continuously engage these practitioners to ensure that they are well-supported in their efforts to help our seniors age well. We envision a near future of connected communities, where there are close collaborations between stakeholders and neighbourhoods, a common shared pool of resources, and a capable and well-equipped team of practitioners who can effect change within the sector, all of which will eventually make a collective impact for a healthy and thriving ageing population," shared Associate Professor Lee Kheng Hock, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Education and Community Partnerships) of SCH and Lead in SCH's Social Prescribing efforts.

The COP in Social Prescribing will serve as a hub to harness the collective knowledge and expertise of the learners and practitioners from the various sectors, fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation, and driving continuous improvement in the learning and practicing of Social Prescribing.

Members of the COP in Social Prescribing will be able to connect with one another through online groups, bi-monthly gatherings and key signature events, as well as access to key resources via an online portal.

Learners and practitioners who share the same concern and passion in the health and social care field will have opportunities for regular interaction to exchange knowledge and share real-life case studies with one another, provide each other with mutual support when met with challenging work situations, and a chance to collaborate across the sector.

At launch, more than 300 members have joined the COP in Social Prescribing. These members are current practitioners in the health and social care field and many are also graduates of SCHOOL's training programmes in health and social care integration.

They include Ms Karen Neo, Centre Coordinator at COMNET Senior Service (under AMKFSC Community Services), Mr Jeremy Mok, Senior Centre Manager of Lions Befrienders, Mr Jacob Ng, Centre Supervisor of NTUC Health Co-Operative Limited, Ms Jaya Raman Uma Maheswari, Assistant Manager, Programmes and Volunteer Management of Orange Valley Nursing Homes Pte Ltd and Ms Melissa Teo, Volunteer Management Executive of the Methodist Welfare Services Active Ageing Centre – GreenTops@Sims Place), amongst others.

The COP in Social Prescribing will champion Social Prescribing and the work of Social Prescribing learners and practitioners in Singapore through:

Knowledge Management and Transfer: A knowledge management platform allows members to share their expertise, best practices and lessons learned.
Identify Knowledge and Care Gaps: Through interactions and knowledge sharing within the community, members can stay updated on industry trends, new knowledge, priorities, and common challenges.
Collaboration and Resource Sharing: An interactive space to collaborate, exchange and share resources.
Innovation: Generating and sharing new knowledge and new ways of working, including developing better tools and processes, and creating innovative solutions to common challenges.
Mentoring and Support: A platform for mentoring relationships, where experienced members can provide advice, guide, and support newer members. This builds professional relationships and fosters a supportive environment for growth and development.
Networking and Collaboration with External Partners: Expands networking opportunities, facilitates collaboration on population health and training projects.

About SingHealth Regional Health System
The SingHealth Regional Health System (RHS) recognises that our population can be empowered to keep well, get well and live well in their communities and homes. To achieve this, we collaborate with like-minded agencies across the health and social care sectors to identify population health needs, promote behaviour changes and develop sustainable programmes to improve quality of life. As an academic RHS, we also leverage population health research to understand healthcare utilisation patterns and to facilitate appropriate interventions across the care continuum.

About SingHealth Community Hospitals
SingHealth Community Hospitals (SCH) comprises Bright Vision Community Hospital, Sengkang Community Hospital and Outram Community Hospital, where the focus goes beyond healthcare to health as patients are provided with a homely environment to recuperate and take part in well-paced personalised care. As part of the SingHealth Regional Health System, SCH believes in working closely with community partners to allow patients to receive holistic and continued care during admission and after discharge.

For media queries, please contact:
Cheryl Lim,Communications
SingHealth Community Hospitals
Mobile: 8118 3098
Email: [email protected]

Annex A – About the Social Prescribing Masterclass
The Social Prescribing Masterclass 2023 is a continuation of the first Asia-Pacific Social Prescribing Conference held last year, where international experts in Social Prescribing share on the best practices of this person-centric approach to healthcare.

Organised by SingHealth Community Hospitals (SCH) in partnership with the SingHealth Regional Health System (RHS), the Social Prescribing Masterclass brings together practitioners in health and social care to have an in-depth conversation about how current processes, resources and support can be improved to enhance the overall health and wellbeing of our ageing population.

Speakers Dr Bogdan Chiva Giurca, Lead of the Global Social Prescribing Alliance and Clinical Lead for National Academy for Social Prescribing, together with Ms Najnin Islam, Head of Workforce & Infrastructure and Clinical Lead for the National Academy for Social Prescribing were in attendance to share their insights in Social Prescribing work and case studies.

The Masterclass also brought together the graduates of various SCHOOL (SingHealth Community Hospitals Office of Learning) courses on Health and Social Integration for networking, collaborative learning and support.

Media Release