Star PALS Empowerment Workshop 2019
Cover Star PALS Empowerment Workshop 2019

The last of a three-part series, we learn more about the work of Dr Chong, a palliative care professional who was recently recognised as a Leader of Good by the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards for his dedication to providing the best care until the end

Organised by the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC), the President’s Volunteerism & Philanthropy Awards (PVPA) is a crucial platform that recognises individuals, organisations and leaders who toil selflessly to contribute to a positive society. While the past two years have been a challenging feat for all of us, these winners still continue to devote their time, talents, treasures and voices to empower those without the power to do so

The PVPA award in the Leader Of Good - Adult category goes to Dr Chong Poh Heng, once a general practitioner who gave up his private practice to dedicate his time and efforts to alleviate the suffering and loneliness of terminal patients. The medical professional breaks down the critical moments in his life that led him to pivot from his practice to focus on improving the palliative care value chain. 

Dr Chong Poh Heng And His Superhuman Ability To Care

Tatler Asia
Dr Chong visiting a Star PALS patient 2015
Above Dr Chong visiting a Star PALS patient 2015

Watching a loved one pass away due to disease, without any way to relieve their pain, is a gruelling feat for anyone. As a medical professional in palliative care, Dr Chong Poh Heng is faced with suffering every day, but the medical director of HCA Hospice Care chooses to see the relief he can bring to his patients and their families under his care.

Dr Chong, after giving up his private practice as a general practitioner, chose to shift his speciality after a home visit to a five-year-old boy dying from terminal cancer. Being able to calm the sobbing child in pain, Dr Chong was convinced that no child should die in suffering if they can be soothed in any way possible.

“The care of dying children is still an undeveloped concept in Singapore”, shares Dr Chong as he explains how the long hours and ‘heart’ work he does can take its toll on him, both mentally and physically. Yet, the palliative care professional works tirelessly with abundant passion to find ways to help patients, as well as educate other doctors. For instance, he introduced the Paediatric Palliative Screening Scale (PaPaS) to help paediatricians appreciate which children can benefit and gain support from palliative care.

Don't miss: Dover Park Hospice Raises Over $900,000 at its Virtual Sunflower Dinner 2021

'gallery right' 'gallery right'
'gallery right' 'gallery right'
Photo 1 of 3 HCA Paediatric Palliative Care Symposium 2019
Photo 2 of 3 Teaching PPC in Chiang Mai 2017
Photo 3 of 3 Bangladesh Training Tour 2016

Since 2012, Dr Chong and his team have served 500 young patients and completed 25,895 home visits. However, he still reminisces about one of his patients—a teenage girl with a fast-growing tumour in her lungs. “One day, [the patient’s] distraught mother interrupted my busy clinic and begged me to do a house call. She wanted me to ‘stop’ her daughter’s suffering as the young girl became increasingly breathless and looked close to dying.”

Dr Chong also explains that the default response to this situation would be to send the patient to the hospital. He could predict the outcome of that choice—a patient stuck on a ventilator in an unfamiliar setting for the end of her life. Thus, he chose to keep her at home, where he could “bring her relief and let her spend the last two days of her life surrounded by loved ones at home”.

The PVPA 2021 Leaders of Good award winners are passionate leaders and create new frontiers for underserved areas in Singapore, as does Dr Chong. Despite the difficulties of his work testing his relationships and family, he chose to take a sabbatical in the USA and UK for a year for his advanced training. “I desperately missed my wife and children, but it liberated me to focus on carving my vision for the paediatric palliative care scene in Singapore. Sometimes we need to pause—and maybe go away—and beyond our limits to be our best.”

This selfless act is one that proved to be priceless and continues to inspire his work.

Read more: Meet Eileen Chong, the Filmmaker Who Spotlights Singapore's Unsung Heroes in Her Documentaries

On Giving Back

Tatler Asia
PVPA Conferment - Dr Chong
Above PVPA Conferment - Dr Chong

“Look around you – see what or who needs assistance. It could be your colleague or a neighbour. It could just be a small favour or one little action. Over time, a virtuous circle soon develops and gathers its own momentum. It eventually becomes a habit, a lifestyle, and then a culture!" Dr Chong shares how volunteering was not as fashionable during his humble upbringing, which is why his ideas of charity always revolved around monetary support, donation or offering scholarships.

Now, he believes things have changed since then, as he shares how heartened he is by "the acts of kindness and sacrifice among the volunteers that I have met in palliative care. To me now, philanthropy is how one uses our innate talent to benefit people or causes around us. Nothing is too small or insignificant!"

NOW READ

Everyday Heroes: Meet J'den Teo, the 15-Year-Old Who’s Painting For a Good Cause

Everyday Heroes: Why Singaporean Teacher David Hoe Encourages His Students to Pay it Forward

5 Eco Heroes Creating a More Sustainable Asia in 2021

Topics