Singapore is ageing rapidly. Whereas ageing symbolises advancements that the country has made in public health and medicine over the past few decades, it has brought new concerns regarding care for the elderly, and especially in the last years or months of life. A report commissioned by the Lien foundation in 2010 ranked Singapore 18th out of 40 countries included on a “quality of death index” that compared standards of end-of-life (EOL) care across countries. This, in turn, motivated the formulation of the National Strategy for Palliative Care in Singapore. The report recognised palliative care services to be an essential part of the healthcare system that should be provided to all patients with life limiting illnesses. The report also recommended adequate education and training of health care professionals and investments in research to improve quality of palliative care and to inform policy making.
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