National Medical Excellence Awards 2017

• Chief Executive Officer, Sengkang Health

• Senior Consultant, Department of Urology, Singapore General Hospital

• SingHealth

• Clinical Associate Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

• Adjunct Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School

With an illustrious career spanning over 30 years, Professor Christopher Cheng is a prominent and well-respected urologist who enjoys strong professional standing in the Singapore and international medical communities. Professor Cheng graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1982 and obtained his FRCS (Surg) in 1986, and FAMS (Urology) in 1993. He was the first urologist in Singapore to be fellowship certified in Uro-oncology at the Mayo Clinic (1990 – 1992).

A fervent advocate of patient safety and quality care, Professor Cheng works tirelessly to ensure patients receive the highest standard of care. He is a firm believer in leveraging on technology advances and medical innovation to transform the delivery of healthcare to better meet patients’ needs.

As one of Singapore’s leading Urologist and the lead Urologist in the Department of Urology at the Singapore General Hospital, Professor Cheng has been at the wheel of several milestones in the area of urology in Singapore. Among his myriad achievements were the establishment and expansion of the first Urology Centre in Singapore, as well as the introduction of several medical innovations such as prostate biopsy robot (Mona Lisa) and da Vinci robotic prostatectomy. Today, the Urology Centre is ranked among the best in the region, and its uro-oncology services are also widely recognised as among the best internationally.

A dedicated clinician and educator, Professor Cheng spearheaded the development and training in laparoscopic urology by organising the training and services and also performing the first laparoscopic adrenalectomy, nephrectomy and donor nephrectomy in Singapore. These procedures are now performed as a routine standard of care today.

Recognising the need to develop innovative technology for safer and more effective treatment for patients, he drove the development of several diagnostic and therapeutic options for prostate cancer. A pioneer in using robots in surgery, he led the development and introduction of the first in Asia da Vinci robotic prostatectomy with the Health Sector Development Programme grant from the Ministry of Health. This procedure is now widely adopted in all urological services in Singapore.

Professor Cheng believes in the importance of educating and investing in the next generation of Urologists and has been playing an active role in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching since 2004. Given his passion, inspiring and nurturing demeanour, he has trained many junior surgeons over the years, many of whom are now established Urologists making significant contributions to the field of urology.

With the growing complexity in healthcare and higher expectation from patients, Professor Cheng is leading the design and development of a new model of team-based care for the upcoming Sengkang General Hospital (SKH), slated to open in the second half of 2018. The new model of care focuses on the acuity of care or care themes, where patients will be treated according to their care needs and not just on their condition. Such patient-centric and holistic care will strengthen the delivery of care and enhance patients’ experiences.

A strong advocate of research and a visionary leader deeply committed to improving patient care, Professor Cheng drove and promoted a research culture in SKH. A research department has already been set up with several major grant applications receiving favourable reviews.

In recognition of his unswerving dedication and exemplary contributions, Professor Cheng was awarded the Young Surgeon’s Award of the Academy of Medicine in 1986, the SingHealth GCEO Excellence - Outstanding Clinician Award in 2011 and the National Day Award - The Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2015. He was also a two-time recipient of the ‘Service with a Heart Award’, which bears testimony to the passion that he places in his patients and work. Patient-centric and holistic care remains the core tenet of his clinical practice.

For his extraordinary dedication and distinguished contributions in developing and advancing the field of urology, patient safety and care quality, Professor Christopher Cheng is awarded the 2017 National Outstanding Clinician Award.

Prof Wong’s illustrious career spans more than three decades, with a milestone in 1983, when he was part of the team that helped to bring about Singapore’s first in-vitro fertilisation baby. The team was conferred the National Science and Technology Award for the achievement in 1988.

Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Senior Consultant with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) at the National University Hospital (NUH), Prof Wong also heads the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility and is currently the Director of the Centre for Reproductive Education and Specialist Training at NUH.

He was the first president of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) and was awarded the Honorary Membership to the International Federation of Fertility Societies last year for his contribution to reproductive medicine.

Prof Wong has extensive experience in both public and private healthcare establishments and has made important contributions in the fields of infertility and assisted reproduction technique, attested by his publications in high-impact medical journals.

In 1984, Prof Wong successfully embarked on research with the rhesus monkey model to show that Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) could be an alternative method to assisted reproduction other than In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Embryo Transfer (ET). He then returned to Singapore and continued his work on GIFT at NUH. The O&G department was successful in producing the first pregnancy in Asia via GIFT. In recognition of his pioneering work, Prof Wong was honoured with two prestigious lectureships: The William Blair-Bell Memorial Lecture (RCOG, London, England) and the Fourth Benjamin Henry Sheares Memorial Lecture (Singapore).

Prof Wong continued his work in the fields of infertility and IVF. As a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Task Force on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infertility, Prof Wong was also involved in several studies, which were at the forefront of infertility research.

Committed to training and education, Prof Wong founded the Centre for Reproductive Education & Specialist Training (CREST) in NUH in March 2011. CREST was the first specialised training centre for Assisted Reproduction in the Asia Pacific region. The Centre had state-of-the-art modular laboratories and provided training courses for clinicians and embryologists. It was committed to assist specialists and practitioners to gain not only the technical skills in assisted human reproduction but also the necessary sensitivity to help patients.

For his outstanding contributions and extraordinary dedication in the growth and development of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the area of assisted reproduction, Professor Wong Peng Cheang is awarded the 2014 National Outstanding Clinician Award.

Prof Wong’s illustrious career spans more than three decades, with a milestone in 1983, when he was part of the team that helped to bring about Singapore’s first in-vitro fertilisation baby. The team was conferred the National Science and Technology Award for the achievement in 1988.

Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Senior Consultant with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) at the National University Hospital (NUH), Prof Wong also heads the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility and is currently the Director of the Centre for Reproductive Education and Specialist Training at NUH.

He was the first president of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) and was awarded the Honorary Membership to the International Federation of Fertility Societies last year for his contribution to reproductive medicine.

Prof Wong has extensive experience in both public and private healthcare establishments and has made important contributions in the fields of infertility and assisted reproduction technique, attested by his publications in high-impact medical journals.

In 1984, Prof Wong successfully embarked on research with the rhesus monkey model to show that Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) could be an alternative method to assisted reproduction other than In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Embryo Transfer (ET). He then returned to Singapore and continued his work on GIFT at NUH. The O&G department was successful in producing the first pregnancy in Asia via GIFT. In recognition of his pioneering work, Prof Wong was honoured with two prestigious lectureships: The William Blair-Bell Memorial Lecture (RCOG, London, England) and the Fourth Benjamin Henry Sheares Memorial Lecture (Singapore).

Prof Wong continued his work in the fields of infertility and IVF. As a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Task Force on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infertility, Prof Wong was also involved in several studies, which were at the forefront of infertility research.

Committed to training and education, Prof Wong founded the Centre for Reproductive Education & Specialist Training (CREST) in NUH in March 2011. CREST was the first specialised training centre for Assisted Reproduction in the Asia Pacific region. The Centre had state-of-the-art modular laboratories and provided training courses for clinicians and embryologists. It was committed to assist specialists and practitioners to gain not only the technical skills in assisted human reproduction but also the necessary sensitivity to help patients.

For his outstanding contributions and extraordinary dedication in the growth and development of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the area of assisted reproduction, Professor Wong Peng Cheang is awarded the 2014 National Outstanding Clinician Award.

Prof Wong’s illustrious career spans more than three decades, with a milestone in 1983, when he was part of the team that helped to bring about Singapore’s first in-vitro fertilisation baby. The team was conferred the National Science and Technology Award for the achievement in 1988.

Professor of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Senior Consultant with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) at the National University Hospital (NUH), Prof Wong also heads the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility and is currently the Director of the Centre for Reproductive Education and Specialist Training at NUH.

He was the first president of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) and was awarded the Honorary Membership to the International Federation of Fertility Societies last year for his contribution to reproductive medicine.

Prof Wong has extensive experience in both public and private healthcare establishments and has made important contributions in the fields of infertility and assisted reproduction technique, attested by his publications in high-impact medical journals.

In 1984, Prof Wong successfully embarked on research with the rhesus monkey model to show that Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) could be an alternative method to assisted reproduction other than In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Embryo Transfer (ET). He then returned to Singapore and continued his work on GIFT at NUH. The O&G department was successful in producing the first pregnancy in Asia via GIFT. In recognition of his pioneering work, Prof Wong was honoured with two prestigious lectureships: The William Blair-Bell Memorial Lecture (RCOG, London, England) and the Fourth Benjamin Henry Sheares Memorial Lecture (Singapore).

Prof Wong continued his work in the fields of infertility and IVF. As a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Task Force on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infertility, Prof Wong was also involved in several studies, which were at the forefront of infertility research.

Committed to training and education, Prof Wong founded the Centre for Reproductive Education & Specialist Training (CREST) in NUH in March 2011. CREST was the first specialised training centre for Assisted Reproduction in the Asia Pacific region. The Centre had state-of-the-art modular laboratories and provided training courses for clinicians and embryologists. It was committed to assist specialists and practitioners to gain not only the technical skills in assisted human reproduction but also the necessary sensitivity to help patients.

For his outstanding contributions and extraordinary dedication in the growth and development of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the area of assisted reproduction, Professor Wong Peng Cheang is awarded the 2014 National Outstanding Clinician Award.

• Senior Consultant, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, National University Hospital

• Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

• National University Health System

Professor Arijit Biswas led the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G), National University Hospital (NUH) for 17 years, from 2000 to 2016. Under his leadership, the Department has grown its obstetric service to one of international standards, providing high quality patient care and maintaining an excellent safety record.

Professor Biswas has been instrumental in improving obstetric care for women both antenatally and during labour. He introduced fetal ECG (STAN) monitoring in labour, which has now been incorporated into routine practice in the delivery suites at NUH. He developed and introduced new ultrasound services at the hospital, including the nuchal translucency screening scan and 3-dimensional ultrasound scan. He has also formed vital partnerships with rheumatologists and paediatric cardiologists to initiate new joint clinical services for high-risk women with recurrent pregnancy loss and fetal cardiac abnormalities respectively, allowing these women to benefit from one-stop, multi-disciplinary care.

Professor Biswas also contributed significantly to helping women with high-risk pregnancies or fetal abnormalities to receive cutting-edge care by introducing novel and effective treatments with a particular focus on prenatal intervention and fetal therapy procedures. These include in-utero treatment for select cases of fetal hydrops, in-utero blood transfusions for severely anaemic foetuses, and in-utero selective fetoscopic laser ablation of anastomotic vessels for twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), among others. Professor Biswas also performed the first radio-frequency ablation procedure for a monochorionic twin pregnancy in Singapore.

Aside from the clinical advances that he has championed, Professor Biswas also ensured that clinical processes in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at NUH kept pace with time. Professor Biswas designed, developed and implemented the Department’s first database of maternity records that allowed for accurate record-keeping and epidemiological research. Importantly, the database also allowed for the automated calculation of maternity services-related clinical quality indicators that have helped to maintain the hospital’s high standards of care.

Professor Biswas continues to support the Department at NUH as the Director of Clinical Services and Head of the Fetal Care Centre. He is a dedicated leader, who personally supervises the running of the Obstetric Services at NUH, provides regular on-the-floor consultant cover, and remains accessible even when he is not on call. The high volume of referrals for second opinions, advanced ultrasound scans and ultrasound-guided invasive procedures that he receives from obstetricians and gynaecologists in Singapore, as well as the region, is testament to his reputation as a highly knowledgeable and experienced clinician.

Professor Biswas is also passionate about teaching and training the next generation of doctors and obstetrics and gynaecology specialists. He continues to be in great demand as a clinical teacher. He is patient with his juniors and displays deep knowledge about the art and science of obstetrics and gynaecology. He has also been an invaluable mentor to many residents and junior colleagues. For his good work with residents, he was awarded the “NUH Postgraduate Teaching Excellence Award” in December 2012.

Professor Biswas is well recognised as an expert in the field of Maternal Fetal Medicine both nationally and internationally. Apart from holding numerous leadership and advisory positions at NUH and NUS, Professor Biswas is the Chairman of both the national O&G Resident Advisory Committee and the Clinical Advisory Group on Zika Virus Infection and Pregnancy at the Ministry of Health and member of the Specialist Accreditation Board, Singapore. He was also previously President of the College of O&G and a Council Member of the Academy of Medicine Singapore. Professor Biswas has also published more than 137 papers in international peer-reviewed journals with a citation count of 1852 and an H-index of 22, and maintains active research interests to date.

For his outstanding contributions and achievements in clinical work that have advanced the safety and quality of obstetric care, Professor Arijit Biswas is awarded the 2017 National Outstanding Clinician Award.

• Senior Consultant, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, National University Hospital

• Associate Professor, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore

• National University Health System

• Executive Director, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research

Associate Professor Chong Yap Seng is a clinician-scientist with a special interest in fetal growth and early development. His research seeks to benefit population health in Singapore, both for the current and the future generations.

Associate Professor Chong and his team set up the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) Study in 2009. GUSTO is one of the most comprehensive longitudinal cohort studies ever conducted in Singapore or anywhere else in the world, involving mothers-to-be and their children. GUSTO is aimed at studying the growth and development of individuals from early life to discover new prevention and early intervention strategies to optimise health. The study is a multi-organisational effort that harnesses research talent from the National University Health System, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, A*STAR’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, and other academic partners locally. GUSTO also collaborates with international researchers from New Zealand and the United Kingdom, among others.

GUSTO researchers recruited over 1200 Singaporean women who volunteered to participate in the birth cohort study between 2009 and 2010. These volunteers are followed from early pregnancy through delivery and as their children grow up, to provide valuable insight into the early determinants of health and disease. Supported by the Translational Clinical Research Flagship Programme grant from the National Medical Research Council, Ministry of Health, GUSTO has been cited to be one of the leading birth cohort studies in the world with some of the most detailed assessments and analyses of child development, cognition and physical health ever established.

GUSTO has generated over 140 scientific publications since 2012, and the findings have also directly influenced health policy and clinical practice in Singapore. GUSTO researchers discovered that the prevalence of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was much higher than expected and showed that a universal testing policy for GDM would be more cost effective than high-risk screening. They submitted a white paper to MOH in September 2015, which led to MOH recommending universal testing for GDM to all doctors in Singapore.

GUSTO has also been lauded by international reviewers and journal editors for the bold and innovative approaches their researchers have taken in carrying out their studies. For example, their use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as early as 1 week of life for newborn babies has allowed them to study the effects of maternal health, nutrition, and mental state on the baby’s brain and body in a way that no other study has been able to on a large scale. GUSTO has incorporated many new medical technologies like genomics, epigenomics, and metabolomics to bring deeper understanding into the biological factors affecting the long-term health of Singaporeans.

GUSTO’s research work was expanded further when the Singapore PREconception Study of long-Term maternal and child Outcomes (S-PRESTO) cohort study was funded in 2014. This is one of the first and most comprehensive studies of women planning to conceive to be launched in the world and seeks to understand how the health of women before pregnancy affects both the health of the mothers and their babies.

The sustained influence of the early environment, including maternal health and nutrition over the early life course, forms the basis of the “developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD)” paradigm, which has helped shape the foundation of Associate Professor Chong’s work in GUSTO and S-PRESTO. Under the DOHaD programme, Associate Professor Chong leads a dynamic, highly-collaborative research group.

As a thought leader in the field, Associate Professor Chong has been invited to give numerous lectures and keynotes on the topic, and has been selected to a number of prestigious committees and consultations at the international level. These include organisations such as the Nature Publishing Group, World Health Organisation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. With his colleagues, he continues to drive the research work and publications in this area, with his citation index rising from 68 in 2008 to 501 in 2016.

Besides research, Associate Professor Chong remains a busy obstetrician who is noted for his efforts to promote natural birth and breastfeeding in Singapore. He also led the Medical Education Unit for 10 years, helping to develop teaching skills and the curriculum in the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, where he is currently a Vice-Dean promoting strategic collaborations with academic partners around the world. Finally, Associate Professor Chong is the Executive Director of A*STAR’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences where he is working with the food and nutrition industry to translate some of his team’s research into viable products.

For his outstanding contributions towards improving population health in Singapore through the study of health and disease in early life, and its potential impact in later life, Associate Professor Chong Yap Seng is awarded the 2017 National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award.

• Senior Consultant, Department of Neurosurgery, National Neuroscience Institute

• SingHealth

As an accomplished neurosurgeon, Dr Chumpon has played an essential role in the training of young clinicians and clinician scientists. Through his many decades as an outstanding clinician, he has mentored generations of neurosurgeons from Singapore and the region – many of whom are leaders in the field today.

For those who know Dr Chumpon well, he is a tower of strength for his colleagues, students and patients. His relentless energy to find solutions in his quest to improve surgery and its links to other fields of medicine has made him a leader in neurosurgery. He is one of the foremost mentors for neurosurgery in Singapore.

A pioneer in neurosurgery in Singapore, Dr Chumpon can also be credited for the crucial role he played in the development of the discipline. Under the mentorship of Singapore’s founding fathers of neurosurgery, the late Dr Tham Cheok Fai and Dr Gopal Baratham, Dr Chumpon helped set up the department of Neurosurgery in Singapore General Hospital (SGH) in 1990.

As such, Dr Chumpon is one of the foremost mentors for neurosurgery in Singapore and has nurtured many of the nation’s leaders in medicine. His mentees include Associate Professor Ang Beng Ti, Head, Department of Neurosurgery (Singapore General Hospital Campus), National Neuroscience Institute and Dr David Low, Consultant, Department of Neurosurgery, National Neuroscience Institute and Head, Neurosurgical Service, KK Women's and Children's Hospital.

As an educator, Dr Chumpon is a fierce proponent for structured and directed training. He was instrumental in leading the advancement of neurosurgical training in Singapore. He was Chairman of the Specialist Training Committee and Chairman, Chapter of Neurosurgeons, Academy of Medicine, during which, an MOU was signed with the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh on the Specialty Fellowship Examination in Neurosurgery in Singapore leading to the FRCSEd (Surgical Neurology) in 2005. This set the beginning for certification of neurosurgical training in Singapore.

With SGH’s strategic proximity to many national specialty centres, Dr Chumpon established a multi-disciplinary approach for complex neurosurgical problems. Today, a multi-disciplinary approach has been accepted as good clinical practice. This culminated in the successful separation of the Nepalese conjoined twins in 2001. In this complex case, Dr Chumpon was one of the lead surgeons.

For this megafeat which projected Singapore and SGH onto the world medical stage, the team was awarded the Excellence for Singapore Award and the Singapore Medical Alumni Association Award.

Dr Chumpon was also the lead clinician in the development of the Dextroscope^TM, a 3D virtual reality workbench for planning and training in neurosurgery. This technology has been used to train neurosurgeons locally and worldwide, a prototype of which was used to plan the separation of the conjoined twins.

Dr Chumpon has dedicated his life to neurosurgery because he believes that the best must reside to serve and care for patients in the public healthcare system. He has instilled values of public duty and nurtured many generations of neurosurgeons for Singapore.

For his outstanding contributions and exemplary lifelong dedication in nurturing the past, present and next generation of doctors to address the neurological needs of patients and Singapore’s ageing population, Dr Chumpon Chan is awarded the 2017 National Outstanding Clinician Mentor Award.

• Education Director, Pre-Professional Education Office, Tan Tock Seng Hospital

• Senior Consultant, Emergency Department, Tan Tock Seng Hospital

• National Healthcare Group

• Assistant Dean Year 5, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technology University

Associate Professor Tham Kum Ying is well known and respected as a teacher par excellence in Singapore’s public healthcare, and has been actively involved in the education of medical students, nurses, paramedics, house officers, medical officers and trainees since 1994.

As Associate Dean and Director of Clinical Training from 2007 to 2010, Associate Professor Tham plays an active leadership role in enhancing the teaching and faculty development programmes of the National Healthcare Group (NHG), Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 2010, she was appointed Assistant Chairman of the Medical Board (Education) to enhance education as a core mission of TTSH. She continues to lead in medical education and training efforts in her current appointment as Education Director of TTSH’s Pre-Professional Education Office.

In 2011, Associate Professor Tham became part of the start-up team as Assistant Dean at Singapore’s third medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine). She planned and implemented clinical aspects of the curriculum, customised teaching materials from Imperial College to a curriculum suited to Singapore’s needs and relevant in the local context, so that the school’s graduates “would be the kind of doctors you and I would want caring for us.”

A firm believer that doctors must be able to communicate effectively with their nurses, patients, families and caregivers, Associate Professor Tham was the first clinician educator to introduce a communications course for medical students undergoing clinical training at TTSH. Students were presented with challenging “real-life” scenarios to hone their skills in empathy and to increase their awareness and sensitivity when handling the patients and their families.

Since 2009, Associate Professor Tham has systematically introduced Workplace-Based Assessment, first to the doctors, and eventually to other professional groups, so as to better integrate competence with performance. She has also worked closely with the Harvard Macy Institute to create and develop a signature programme to equip NHG’s policy makers including clinician educators and residency programme directors with the know-how to design, lead, manage and evaluate education programmes. Close to 200 clinician educators in NHG and nationally have since completed the programme, and many have gone on to complete a post-graduate Master’s degree in Health Professions Education.

Nationally and regionally, she is a coveted teacher, lecturer and educator in resuscitation, trauma, emergency medicine and medical education. Her current research interests focus on trauma resuscitation and the teaching and learning of medical professionalism. Among her numerous accolades are the Best Teacher Award from TTSH in 2000, the Nanyang Educator Award from NTU in 2015, as well as the commendation as Bilingual Regional Educator from the China-Hong Kong Chapter of the American College of Surgeonsin 2016.

Outside of Singapore, Associate Professor Tham contributed to the clinical and educational capacity-building project for emergency medical services in Malang, Indonesia, and continues to lead the capacity-building project for two rural districts in Sichuan, China.

A firm believer in life-long learning, Associate Professor Tham was Singapore’s and NHG’s firstclinician educator to complete her Doctorate of Education (EdD, Dual Award) from the Institute of Education – University of London, UK, and National Institute of Education, NTU in 2016.

For her unstinting passion and outstanding leadership in medical education and training, and for her unwavering commitment to mentor and teach Singapore’s doctors of tomorrow, Associate Professor Tham Kum Ying is awarded the 2017 National Outstanding Clinician Educator Award.

• Head and Senior Consultant, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Department of Neonatology, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

• Director, Medical Informatics, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

• Chairman, Medication Safety Committee, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital

• Adjunct Associate Professor, Duke-NUS Medical School

• SingHealth

• Co-Chairman, National Medication Safety Taskforce, Ministry of Health

The late Associate Professor Gomez dedicated his life to the most fragile of patients; caring for countless premature and ill newborns over the span of his illustrious career. His commitment to the wellbeing of these young children earned him a loyal following of grateful families who took time to meet up with Associate Professor Gomez, years after their children had graduated from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

After obtaining his post-graduate degree in Paediatrics from the National University of Singapore in 1986, Associate Professor Gomez undertook fellowship training at Monash Medical Centre in 1988, and had been practicing Neonatology in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) ever since. Associate Professor Gomez was the Head of the hospital’s Special Care Nursery from 2002 to 2005 and assumed the headship role at the NICU in 2006.

As Director of Medical Informatics and also Chairman of the Medication Safety Committee at KKH, Associate Professor Gomez had deep appreciation of the power of automation and computerisation in bolstering patient safety. He devoted efforts outside of his clinical duties to participate in and lead workgroups to enhance electronic medical records and medication safety, both within KKH and in the SingHealth Academic Medical Cluster. He was instrumental in the deployment of the Closed Loop Medication Management system in KKH, which was also the pilot site for the SingHealth cluster. In view of his contributions in the area of medical informatics, Associate Professor Gomez was awarded the National Health IT Excellence Award 2015 - Champion for Health IT Excellence.

Associate Professor Gomez had also received national awards and international recognition for his work in clinical quality improvement in other areas such as improving weight gain in very low birth weight infants as well as infection control in the NICU. The Clinical Process Improvement Project - Improving the Nutritional Intake of the Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Infant won the second runner-up award at the Singapore Clinical Quality Forum, National Scientific Poster Competition in 2005. His other project, aimed at reducing the incidence of healthcare associated infection in the VLBW infants, won the first runner-up award at the same National Scientific Poster Competition in 2009.

Associate Professor Gomez demonstrated his passion for medication safety and contributed his expertise at a national level, as co-Chairman of the Ministry of Health’s National Medication Safety Taskforce. This was one of his many appointments, at various other workgroups and committees.

Associate Professor Gomez had also imparted his valuable knowledge and skills to successive generations of medical professionals. He was extensively involved in the teaching of medical students, nurses and advanced specialist trainees in Paediatrics and Neonatology since 1986, and was conferred the title of Adjunct Associate Professor by the Duke-NUS Medical School in April 2017.

For his outstanding contributions and devotion in advocating patient safety, clinical quality improvement and medical informatics as well as his inspiring dedication in shaping neonatal care, Associate Professor Gomez is awarded the 2017 National Outstanding Clinical Quality Champion Award.