SingHealth organised its inaugural Donor and Partner Appreciation Evening at the Theatre in March. The guests were invited to the Singtel Waterfront Theatre at the Esplanade to watch Falling, a critically acclaimed play by Pangdemonium. 

The play explores the story of two parents, Tami and Bill, who work hard to juggle their duties of caring for two children, Lisa, an angsty teenaged girl, and 18-year-old Josh, who has autism. It delves deep into the pain of a family hanging by the thread while examining the meaning and power of unconditional love. 

The evening wrapped up with an exclusive post-show dialogue between the audience and a panel of experts, including two SingHealth clinicians, actress Ms Karen Tan, who played Tami, and the play’s Artistic Director, Ms Tracie Pang. 

Dr Tan Yee-Leng, Senior Consultant, Department of Neurology and Head, Ambulatory Services, National Neuroscience Institute and Dr Koh Hwan Cui, Principal Psychologist, Department of Child Development, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital gave their insights on the myriad of challenges faced by families providing long-term care for their loved ones with complex health conditions. 

Dr Tan said, “Because of what I do, I resonated a lot with the play and there is definitely a need to focus more on a long-term care plan approach and services for caregivers who are supporting children with autism as they grow up to be young adults.”  

“From my experience, it is important to understand the strengths of children with autism and work on areas for improvement, while helping parents to accept the condition,” added Dr Koh. 

Mr Benjamin Emmanuel Lee, CEO of Sealed Network, who was one of the invited guests, said, “The play really brought home some sobering messages – the importance of a good healthcare system, the urgency to take care of our caregivers and the need for us to play a part. I appreciate how the medical professionals were there after the show to share how our public healthcare system is supporting the caregivers besides providing treatment to the patients.”

The event was organised by staff across SingHealth who are part of the Donor Engagement workstream under the Stakeholder Engagement & Stewardship Shared Service. The Advisor of this Shared Service and Sengkang General Hospital, Chief Communications Officer, Ms Cecilia Pang said, “Kudos to the organising team for selecting a play that deeply resonated with the essence of healthcare. The standing ovation from the nearly full house showed just how much the performance moved the audience. There’s so much more we can do, and we're committed to continuing our support for the needs of patients and caregivers.”