SINGAPORE – A new podcast on palliative care aims to reach out to younger audiences, some of whom may eventually become caregivers to their loved ones with serious illnesses.
The Live Well. Leave Well. podcast will feature patients, healthcare professionals and caregivers – including veteran actors Lim Yu Beng and Remesh Panicker – as well as video producer and influencer Charmaine Seah-Ong, who will share their experiences in palliative care.
The podcast was launched on Friday by the Singapore Hospice Council (SHC), an umbrella body for organisations providing hospice and palliative care. Two episodes – an introductory episode and one on the topic of allowing patients to have a dignified death – are already online.
The podcast aims to encourage open discussions about death and dying, and share how palliative care helps to relieve suffering as well as empower patients and families, SHC said.
“By engaging the younger population in conversations about end-of-life care early, we can ensure that we are not constantly playing catch-up in our efforts to foster a more compassionate and death-literate society,” said the council’s founding chairman, Dr Seet Ai Mee.
Mr Panicker, who shares his experience of caring for his cancer-stricken mother in the second episode, said part of palliative care is facilitating the end-of-life process for family members, such as deciding what songs to play at the funeral or which funeral service provider to engage.
“It’s just making it as easy as possible for the next of kin when your time comes, that they have as happy as possible an experience saying goodbye to you,” said the actor whose mother had died.
In recent years, the Republic has been enhancing palliative care services to meet the needs of its ageing population.
To improve affordability and access to such services, it was announced in July that palliative care subsidies will go up in 2024, while the MediShield Life claim limits for inpatients will also be adjusted from next year.
The podcast was launched during the opening ceremony of SHC’s Live Well. Leave Well. Festival at the National Library Building.
The festival is held in conjunction with World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, which is observed annually on the second Saturday in October.
The 10-day event will have talks, webinars, and workshops aimed at educating a wider audience about palliative care services here.
It will also feature a new SHC Helpline – which people can call to find out more about hospice and palliative care resources – as well as a new book entitled When a Child Has Serious Illness, targeted at the families of children with serious life-limiting illness.
And on Oct 21, fitness enthusiasts will aim to raise $50,000 for palliative care by clocking 100km on stationary bikes, rowing machines, and ski machines.
“The festival is a one-stop hub for individuals from all walks of life to learn more about palliative care, explore end-of-life care options, engage in conversations that matter with experts, and most importantly to celebrate a life well-led,” said SHC executive director Sim Bee Hia.
