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Pre-hospital & Emergency Research Centre (PERC) e-Launch, 9 Sep 2020

On 9 Sep 2020, about 120 participants comprising of clinicians, researchers, policy makers and educators from various organisations and institutes across Singapore and overseas, attended the official e-launch of Pre-hospital & Emergency Research Centre (PERC) in Duke-NUS Medical School, the first of its kind in Singapore and Asia. Experts from University of Michigan, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health, Singapore Civil Defence Force, and Duke-NUS shared their insights through an informative and interactive symposium on improving prehospital and emergency care in Singapore and beyond.

The launch commenced with a welcome address by Prof Thomas Coffman, Dean, Duke-NUS. He mentioned that with the current 70% of cardiac arrests in Singapore that occur in residential areas, the wider prehospital emergency care system plays a crucial role in delivering better patient outcomes and further strengthens Singapore’s emergency system for the benefit of the nation.

Prof Scott Compton, Associate Dean, Duke-NUS addressed how PERC aims to fulfil an unmet need in Singapore. Drawing guiding principles from the “EMS Systems 2050” agenda, he also mentioned how PERC aims to be a leader in prehospital and emergency care research globally.

Keynote speaker for the event, Prof Robert Neumar, Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, discussed how prehospital and emergency care research is essential to advancing public health. Reflecting on experiences in the United States and his own institution, he emphasised the need to create a multidisciplinary pipeline of investigators to have a significant and sustained impact on patient care and outcomes.  He also highlighted the importance of measuring and reporting the public health impact to assure sustained investment necessary for success.

Prof Marcus Ong, Director, Programme in Health Services and Systems (HSSR) and Prehospital and Emergency Research Centre (PERC), Duke-NUS, shared his insights on the future plans for PERC which aims to accelerate the pace towards a world-class emergency care system for Singapore. Through the use of artificial intelligence and data science, PERC will bring forth innovative approaches for clinical interventions in emergency departments and emergency medical services. He also emphasised on the urgent need to understand the drivers of emergency care to develop strategies and evolve new emergency care pathways.

A panel discussion, moderated by Mr Alexander White, Unit for Prehospital Emergency Care (UPEC) in Ministry of Health, involved Dr Ng Yih Ying, Ministry of Home Affairs, Dr Shalini Arulanandam, Singapore Civil Defence Force, Dr Benjamin Leong, UPEC, Prof Robert Neumar and Prof Marcus Ong who discussed and shared their views on the emerging needs of prehospital and emergency care in Singapore.

It was an exciting event and many of the participants had an insightful and enriching experience through the knowledge sharing from various stakeholders.