As part of NSC’s 25th Anniversary celebrations, we will be or-ganising an Open House on 29 November 2014. Members of the public will be treated to a fun-filled programme that spans from 9am to 5pm in the evening – there will be balloon sculpt-ing and games for children, while adults can enjoy massages, makeovers and skin analysis at various booths. Public forums on various skin conditions will be conducted by our doctors

NSC Open House 2014

and there will be guided tours around the Centre’s facilities. Save this date and join us for a day of fun and learning.

For enquiries on our seminars and forums, please call the Training Department at Tel: 6350 8434 or Fax: 62533 255. You may also register online at www.nsc.com.sg.

Improvement of NSC Appointment Centre’s Call Handling CapabilitiesPhil Wong, Clinic Executive

As the primary source of patient contact, the performance management of call centres is critical for an organisation in delivering patient-centred care. In an effort to optimise operational efficiency, the Appointments Centre looked into ways to improve internal processes that reduce waste and increase productivity, with minimal increase in operating costs. We implemented workforce management by introducing the intra-day/daily/monthly forecasts of workload trends, to enable us to establish appropriate service level targets and efficient allocation of manpower. This initiative resulted in a more effective roster framework, with tracking of staff adherence and compliance levels, avoidance of staff breaks during peak periods and stag-gered break sessions to maintain an optimal service level.

To ensure operational efficiency, the centre’s targets were translated into individual staff’s key performance indicators. This gives them a clearer assessment of their own performance and key areas for improvement. The high-stress nature of call centres often results in emotional burnout and high rate of staff turnover. To address this, heavy focus was given to monthly performance reviews where staffs undergo one-to-one sessions with their supervisors for open discussion on work matters where suggestions and feedback were encouraged. Time was also set aside for team-building activities. After implementation, the average service level rose to 61%, about four times from its previous 14%. There was an increase of 40% in answered calls within the threshold level of 20 seconds, and the average call handling capability increased from 58% to its cur-rent 87%, displaying tremendous improvement across all aspects.

NSC Open House 2014

Quality Improvement Lunch 2014Alicia Cheak, Health Performance Office Executive

When Ms Norjana Samsudin first came to the National Skin Centre in 2011, she was frightened and in a lot of pain. She was diagnosed with Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) – a cancer of the immune system that causes painful skin tumours to grow – and had to undergo weekly treatment. However, her suffering was soon alleviated by the care and kindness of NSC nurses who treated her. In her own words, the nurses “cared for me like a member of their family. They were genuinely concerned, going out of their way to ensure I was comfortable and tried to cheer me up whenever I was down.” Ms Norjana said of the nurses who regularly treat her - S. Shanthani, Wang Yu Yan and Wang Danling: “Shanthani is a perfectionist, ensuring that the dressings are done up perfectly. Yu Yan is very energetic and cheerful, and knows how to cheer me up. Danling is the bravest of all! Despite my pain, she remains calm as she dresses my wound.” Staff Nurse Shanthani, said: “Despite her painful condition, Norjana remains very happy, cheerful and generous. She would sometimes give us sweets!“

Ms Norjana, who has made tremendous improvement since her first visit, will continue weekly treatment until she recovers, and hopes to keep in touch with the nurses. “I see them more than I see my own friends nowadays. We have even become friends on Facebook!” she said.

A/Prof Tan Suat Hoon, Director, presenting the WeExcel Award to Brendan Wong, Clinic Executive

(From left) Staff Nurses Wang Danling, S. Shanthani, patient Ms Norjana Samsudin and Wang Yu Yan, Staff Nurse.

The second Quality Improvement Lunch of the year was held on 30 July, where both the Research and Pharmacy departments presented their completed projects on continuous improvement in the workplace.

Both teams showcased the 6S solutions of Safety, Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise and Sustain, implemented for problems encountered in their respective departments. The Re-search department shared on how they reduced the time taken to locate personal protec-tive equipment (PPE) and reduce slips and falls in the laboratory. The team marked the wet area, placed an anti-slip mat to prevent fall incidents and allocated a designated PPE stor-age area close to the liquid nitrogen tank for easy PPE retrieval. The Pharmacy department shared on how they reduced wait time for patients with Biologics prescription by transcrib-ing hard copy documents in their Biologics file into electronic formats, reducing retrieval time for information and thus, overall waiting time.

Additionally, Clinic A, B and C were awarded the WeExcel Award for the first quarter of the year- a NSC Team Quality Award recognising teams who have performed well based on patient satisfaction surveys.

From Nurses to Facebook FriendsDenis Edwards, Singapore-Industry Scholarship (SgIS) Awardee

National Day Awards 2014 Nathalie Ng, Corporate Communications Executive

In the National Day Awards 2014, NSC is proud to have two of our own among the awar-dees for the Public Service Star Medal and the Efficiency Medal. The Public Service Star Medal is presented to those who have rendered valuable public service to the country in their distinguished fields, and the Efficiency Medal recognizes those who have shown ex-ceptional efficiency and devotion in their line of work.

As a current member and the ex-chairman of the NSC Medifund committee from 1993 to 2011, Mr Chia was integral in ensuring that no patients were deprived of appropriate medi-cal treatment due to financial or social reasons. He established a systematic approach for the Medical Social Workers to evaluate patients’ needs and grant waivers, thus assuring effective and prudent allocation of funds. Mr Chia also served on the NSC Research Com-mittee for three years and was a member of the NSC Board from 1991-2000, rendering invaluable service in his time here.

Sister Tan crossed over to NSC from Middle Road Hospital, and played a major role in supporting the development and growth of the Phototherapy Unit to its present state that offers a comprehensive range of phototherapy services. Over the past few decades, Sister Tan has trained countless nurses and other medical staff on Photo-dermatology, contributing significantly to development of dermatological nursing care in Singapore.

Mr Chia Chee Yong (left) member of the NSC Medifund committee, was conferred the Public Service Star Medal while Sister Tan Yoke Choo (right) , Nurse Clinician, received the Efficiency Medal.

NSC News

Visiting Fellow Finds Inspiration in NSCNathalie Ng, Corporate Communications Executive

Health Manpower Development Programme (HMDP) reportWinnie Choo, Senior Pharmacist

Among all that Dr Pearl Weena Marie E. Sabido has learned from her month-long Stiefel fellowship here in NSC, it was the doctors who inspired her the most. Citing Dr Ng See Ket, Dr Hazel Oon and Dr Colin Theng as some of the doctors she had interacted with, “They don’t stop at where they are, they just keep going to be the best that they can be,” she said. They have inspired her to adopt the same philosophy when she returns to Philippines, where she is the Chief Resident in Dermatology at St Luke’s Medical Centre in Quezon. Reflecting upon her observership program that ended on 26th September, Dr Sabido found it to be “good exposure to how things are done differently and more effectively”, and she was glad that the general dermatology programme was flexible enough for her to focus on her areas of interest- Phototherapy and Psoriasis. “I’ve been recommending my junior residents back home to apply for the program here,” she added.

I recently completed my HMDP pharmacy fellowship in the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmacology at University of Bath, UK, from 9 June 2014 to 1 August 2014. My mentor was Professor Richard Guy, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, co-mentor was Dr Begona Delgado-Charro, Senior Lecturer in Department of Phamacy & Pharmacology, and my laboratory guide was the department’s technician Ms Sarah Cordery, a PHD student.

The focus of my attachment was to gain an insight into various techniques of transder-mal drug delivery, and the science behind the methodologies employed to assess skin penetration and topical bioavailability. The pharmacology laboratory there carries

Ms Winnie Choo (extreme right) with fellow laboratory mates in the University of Bath, UK.

“It’s a well-oiled machine, the sys-tem in place is practically flawless,” Dr Sabido said of NSC‘s internal operations

out dermatopharmacokinetics – i.e. in-vitro and in-vivo drug delivery and permeation assessment studies. Studies are conducted on quantification of a drug compound penetration across the skin thereby determining the compound’s ability to be delivered topically.

I was given free reign to closely observe projects by PHD students and to follow their efforts in various assessment methodolo-gies and techniques to assess skin penetration, findings of bioavailabilty and bioequivalence and predictions of dermal absorp-tion and disposition of drugs, among many other objectives centered on transdermal drug delivery.

I was given the opportunity to co-conduct an in-vitro experiment using a commercial patch onto a dermatomed pig skin to determine the penetration of drug from the patch into the pig skin. I also participated in an in-vivo study which involved role play- first as a test sub-ject and then as an investigator to understand the procedures for pre-trial consent taking and counselling. I learnt about the techniques of applying measured volumes of topical applications then tape-stripping at pre-determined intervals, and the use of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to analyse the extractions on the tapes. I was also shown how drug penetration was calculated.

I am very grateful to Prof Guy and his team of co-workers and students who very patiently guided and generously shared their knowl-edge with me during my attachment at Bath. The knowledge that I gained will allow me to better understand the topic of drug permea-tion, and the selection of suitable chemical enhancers or base ingredients to improve topical formulations in NSC.

Education/Training

Despite it being a public holiday, a group of our nurses participated in the annual health screening organised by the Bethesda Frankel Estate Church for 250 migrant workers at the Hougang workers’ dormitory on 28 July, where they set up booths to conduct general skin assessment and sexual health education talks, distributing condoms and pamphlets on safe sex practices.

The nurses had their own learning take-aways from the event. “The skin assessment ex-posed nurses to common skin problems faced by these migrant workers, such as licheni-fication at the malleolus and foot callouses due to wearing of safety boots for occupa-tional safety,” said Sister Tan Kim Lian, Nurse Clinician.

Sister Tan Kim Lian, Nurse Clini-cian (centre) with Staff Nurse Mabel Leow (left) performing a skin assess-ment on a migrant worker.

NHG Excellence in Action Awards 2014 WinnersNathalie Ng, Corporate Communications Executive

AWARDS RECIPIENTSLeadership Dr Martin Chio Tze-Wei, Senior ConsultantIndividual – Medical Tan Yoke Choo, Nurse ClinicianIndividual – Executive / Admin Ang Li Li, Clinic ExecutiveIndividual – Allied Health Tantisopani Bte Mohd Apandi, Senior Pharmacy Technician Jessica Jamie Tan Geok Sim, Social Work AssistantIndividual – Ancillary / Support Tan Bee Hong Mavis, Senior Patient Service Associate

NHG Teaching Awards 2014Nathalie Ng, Corporate Communications Executive

This year’s Teachers’ Day saw four NSC staff securing wins in four different categories in the annual NHG Teaching Awards. These awards are recognition of exemplary contribution and mentorship given by clinicians and allied health educators. We extend our congratulations to the following well-deserving awardees:

AWARDS RECIPIENTSNHG Education Award Dr Ng See Ket, Senior ConsultantNHG Teaching Award for Dr Ker Khor Jia, Associate ConsultantJunior CliniciansNHG Outstanding Dr Koh Jean Aan Mark, Visiting ConsultantEducation Partners AwardNHG Teaching Award for Sister Wong Bee Yin, Senior Nurse EducatorNon-Physicians

(Clockwise from top left) Dr Ng See Ket, Dr Ker Khor Jia, Dr Koh Jean Aan Mark and Sister Wong Bee Yin receiving their respec-tive awards at IMH.

Health screening for migrant workers at Hougang Workers’ DormitoryRyan Chua, Staff Nurse

Held on 21 October at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH), the NHG Excellence in Action Awards 2014 were awarded to six of our staff for exhibiting exemplary standards in their work. We congrat-ulate them on their well-deserved win.

NATIONAL SkIN CENTrE 1 Mandalay road Singapore 308205

Website: www.nsc.com.sg www.facebook.com/NationalSkinCentreAPPOINTMENT Tel: 6350 6666 Fax: 6258 2475 RECORDED GENERAL INFORMATION Tel: 6350 6680

For NSC Internet Appointment Booking, please login to www.nsc.com.sgEditorial: Ms Nathalie Ng Advisors: Clinical A/Prof Tan Suat Hoon, Mrs Tang Lee Foon

This is an in-house publication for staff information only. Contents can be quoted or reproduced with permission of National Skin Centre (S) Pte Ltd.Printed by : Unique Colour Separation Pte Ltd

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