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Message
from the Founder President
What is the
Society for Continence (Singapore)?
It is an organisation
for healthcare professionals, patients, their relatives and concerned parties
interested to help those with incontinence related problems to lead healthy and
productive lives. The Society also offers fellowship, shared counselling and
advice on updated medical options and provides assistance in securing subsidies
and other forms of financial help.
Why
is this movement important?
This Society is very
important in the Singapore context because of our increasingly ageing
population. Family units in Singapore are becoming smaller with family support
and caregivers rapidly diminishing. It is commonplace today to see maids
looking after the elderly incontinent in Singapore homes because both husband
and wife are away at work. The cost of living has gone up tremendously and the
burden of caring for the incontinent is becoming increasingly difficult.
By the year 2020, forty
percent of Singapore's population will be over 50 years and the elderly with
incontinence requiring help will outstrip our nation's resources. Hence we need
to start our public education programmes on prevention and rehabilitation early
so that future patients would be able to help themselves, instead of relying
heavily on caregivers. Adequate training must be instituted RIGHT NOW and is
vital for doctors and nurses who will be managing these patients in the 21st
century with tried and tested skills, imparted to them early in the development
of our healthcare system.
Survey shows that there
are around 55 million bedwetters in the world at present. The child is not
exempted. Children often suffer from bedwetting, which may extend into adult
life causing untold emotional upset and sometimes despair. The adult working
mother suffers from stress incontinence very often after childbirth, while
older men can develop incontinence due to their prostate gland. The overactive
bladder affects everyone from the cradle to the grave so to speak!
True, incontinence is
not a form of cancer but it can cause sfcial death and can ruin a person
sfcially and emotionally. It can render him or her to be utterly rejected by
friends, relatives and the whole of Society. In our "golden years", surely we
do not want to end up as sfcial outcasts - shun by everyone!
What will our
Society be doing to address these issues in the coming decade?
In addition to providing
scholarships, more public education programmes and toll-free telephone
help-line, we intend to set up retail outlets for poorer patients, where
subsidised resources such as pads, pants and medication can be obtained. A full
time doctor and nurse will ultimately be available to provide direct
counselling, supported by secretarial services. To supplement our already full
training programmes for doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, the SFCS
website was initiated to provide instantaneous information on incontinence
matters throughout Singapore and the rest of the world.
Prof Peter H C Lim
Founder President
Society for Continence (Singapore)
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