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MEDICAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS
Last night, the Health Ministry gave out National Medical Excellence Awards to the best doctors here in four categories: Outstanding Mentors, Doctors, Doctors in Research and Teams. The winners were judged on their contributions to science and society and to patient safety and care.
DOCTORS who led a tireless campaign to help people with severe mental illnesses were honoured yesterday with the National Clinical Excellence Team Award.
The researchers from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) spent six years examining psychosis, a condition that sees patients losing touch with reality.
Their work helped hundreds get treatment while the condition was still in its early stages, increasing the chances of recovery.
The team behind the Early Psychosis Intervention Programme was led by Associate Professor Chong Siow Ann, and included Dr Swapna Verma, Ms Poon Lye Yin and MsHelen Lee.
"Our research showed people with psychosis do not come quickly for help and the front line in health care - general practitioners, counsellors, universities, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners - are more likely to see them first," Prof Chong, 46, said.
"We had to get everyone involved to send patients our way," she added.
The same award was also presented to health-care workers from the KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) who helped Singapore attain one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world.
The team was led by obstetrician Tan Kok Hian, 47, and included anaesthetist Alex Sia, neonatalogist Pratibha Agarwal, and nurse manager Hoon Siew Joong.
They were recognised for more than halving the number of deaths at KKH from 10 per 1,000 births in 1990 to fewer than five per 1,000 births today.
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