SESSION DETAILS
Abstract
Healthcare needs are increasingly complex, requiring integrated, person-centred approaches that go beyond single professions, settings or episodes of care. AHPs play a critical role in bridging these gaps by working collaboratively across disciplines and across the wider social and health ecosystem.
This symposium brings together three NHG Health’s Allied Health initiatives aligned with the theme “Stronger Together: One Allied Health for Integrated Care”. The presentations showcase how AHPs, working collectively and enabling coordinated care for patients with complex needs.
The first presentation, Lighter Life, is an interdisciplinary primary care weight management programme for patients with chronic disease. It highlights close collaboration between AHPs and doctors from programme co-creation through to delivery.
The second presentation focuses on Joined-Up Care (JUC), a social work-led initiative across NHG Health. MSW teams and community partners collaborate to enable early identification and timely psychosocial interventions for vulnerable older adults.
The third presentation on mental health explores how primary care mental health teams partner community and tertiary services to strengthen mental health pathways across all levels of care.
Together, these presentations offer practical insights into how Allied Health, when aligned and integrated, can strengthen care delivery and improve outcomes across the continuum of care.
Workshop Objectives
Workshop Learning Outcomes
Session Details
Topic
Speaker
Lighter Life - Primary Care Weight Management for Patients with Chronic Disease
Our population is facing a weighty problem where 1 in 3 adults are either overweight or obese. Being overweight/obese increases one’s risk of developing chronic conditions such as hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
Weight management is pertinent in addressing this weighty issue. Lighter Life, inaugurated in 2018, is an effective primary care weight management programme that focuses on holistic weight management strategies for patients with chronic diseases. The programme is a culmination of hours of collaboration between our allied health professionals, nurses and physicians. We will be sharing on the outcomes and learnings from the inter-disciplinary effort from co-creation to building to delivery of Lighter Life programme.
Dr Louisa Tan
Social Work-Led Joined Up Care (JUC): Bridging Health and Social Care
The Social Work-led Joined Up Care is a cluster-wide initiative to drive psychosocial care transformation across NHG Health institutions. It addresses the challenge of fragmented care delivery for vulnerable elderly with health and social risks. Within its model of care, the project implements a biopsychosocial screening tool and shared risk stratification framework that enables early identification of elderlies with health and social risks, marking a shift from reactive to proactive care delivery. It also adopts a systematic approach that promotes sustainable care delivery through enhanced health-social coordination, featuring collaborative assessments, joint interventions and early planning for comprehensive "wrap-around care". The pilot's scalable model aims to standardise risk identification and assessment processes across various settings to achieve timely identification and interventions, support place-based care and improve health and social outcomes.
Ms Janet Lim Hoon Ru
Anchoring Collaborative Care: HMS & ASCAT Strengthening Mental Health Pathways Across All Levels
With increasing emphasis on mental wellness, there is a pertinent need to build a seamless and person-centred mental health ecosystem. This will reduce the barriers to help-seeking and ensure accessible care. The collaboration of Health & Mind Service (HMS) at NHG Polyclinics, with our community and tertiary partners (including ASCAT) will be presented. We will share learning points from how HMS has leveraged on the strengths of our internal and external partners to improve mental health care within the primary care setting through capability building, shared protocols, referral pathways, and multidisciplinary teamwork.
Ms Lin Yijun Carol
Panel Discussion
Speakers
More information is coming soon.
A/Prof Florence Cheong
Head, Allied Health, Community Care,
NHG Health (Population Health)
Ms Janet Lim Hoon Ru
Principal Medical Social Worker, Care & Counselling,
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Ms Lin Yijun Carol
Senior Psychologist, Head of Psychology Services, Clinical Services
NHG Polyclinics
Dr Louisa Tan
Associate Consultant, Family Medicine,
NHG Polyclinics