Number of Singaporeans Who Have Signed Advanced Medical Directives

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the number of Singaporeans who have signed Advanced Medical Directives (AMDs) each year from 2010 to 2015; (b) what is the total cumulative number of Singaporeans who have signed AMDs; and (c) what is the total cumulative number of cases where healthcare institutions acted on AMDs.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: An Advance Medical Directive (AMD) is a legal document that enables a person to voluntarily and in advance, register his or her wishes not to have any extraordinary life-sustaining treatment to prolong his or her life when the person becomes terminally ill and unconscious or unable to make a rational judgment on his or her own treatment.

The AMD was introduced in 1997. A cumulative total of 24,682 Singaporeans made an AMD between 1997 and 2015. During the same period, 10 AMDs were effected.

Between 2010 and 2015, the numbers of AMDs made by Singaporeans are as follows:

Besides AMDs, Advance Care Planning (ACP) is also available and practised at hospitals. This allows forward planning for end-of-life care arrangements, such as the extent of medical treatment and place of death. Though not legally binding, the care preferences of the person are recorded as a document to guide medical professionals and family members in the care arrangements for the patient. We formally rolled out ACP through the Agency for Integrated Care in 2011. Between then and 2015, about 5,100 Advance Care Plans were completed.