History of the ICS Singapore Section
Although there were a good number of ICS Fellows in Singapore for many years, it was not until November 1991 that a National Section was officially established. The impetus came from both Professor Peter Lim Huat Chye and Professor Christopher Chen. Professor Lim was then Head of the division of Urology, Toa Payoh Hospital, who also became the Section’s first Honorary Secretary and Professor Christopher Chen, then the Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Kandang Kerbau Hospital was elected its first President.
The ICS Singapore Section made its first major impact on the local medical fraternity when it joined the Academy of Medicine (Singapore) in organising the Singapore-Malaysia Congress of Medicine, in August 1992. Professor John Lumley, ICS President (1991-1992), and Professor Earl Owen, Pacific Federation Secretary (1989-1992), were the official representatives of the ICS parent body, lecturing at the Congress which was attended by 650 participants.
ICS Singapore Section continued to progress. Its major development was the running of the year 2000 Biennial World Congress of the ICS in Singapore, which was held at Suntec City. It cost 1.5 million dollars but was the most successful Congress in the history of the College. Professor Christopher Chen was the Congress President, assisted by Professor Ho Yik-Hong, who was also the Scientific Chairman. Several local Meetings took place as follows:
From April 9-10 2004, ICS – Singapore Section held a very successful International Symposium on “Current and Future Directions of IVF Practice” at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore which was attended by more than 100 participants from 15 countries. The Symposium was endorsed by the O&G Society of Singapore and ESHRE (European Society For Human Reproduction And Embryology). 5 international and 5 local speakers gave lectures during the 2-day symposium, which was opened by the late Minister of State For Health, Dr Balaji Sadasivan. The Symposium achieved the objectives of
(1) Disseminating information on the latest advances of IVF practice as well as the future directions in this field,
(2) Drawing attention to ICS and its activities,
(3) Continuing the realization of postgraduate education, training and certification, in accordance to the plans of my Ad-hoc Committee on Surgical Clinical Courses.
The Symposium was preceded by 2 hands-on workshops. The first workshop on “Sperm Preparation Methods for IUI” held on 8 April 2004 was attended by 32 participants in 2 batches. After the demonstration, the participants practiced the different methods of sperm preparation for insemination. It was over subscribed!
The second workshop was on “Embryo Cryopreservation” and was attended by 48 participants, well beyond the limit of 40. The workshop was also conducted in 2 batches. Embryo freezing and thawing techniques were demonstrated to the participants and was followed by hands-on practice.
At the end of the whole Symposium, participants were enthusiastically enquiring about the repeat of such an educational Symposium the next year.
The ICS – Singapore Section held a very successful International College of Surgeons Singapore Congress 2006 at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore. It was attended by almost 700 participants from 22 countries, including local participants. The main Congress was held between 1 and 2 April 2006 at the Shangri-La Hotel, while the pre and post Congress workshops were held in various hospitals around the island between 30 March and 6 April 2006. A total of 15 workshops and a Public Forum were held between 30 March 2006 and 6 April 2006, with overwhelming response. Dr Balaji Sadasivan, the late Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts, opened the Congress. He was later bestowed the most prestigious honour of the International College of Surgeons – Honorary Fellowship in the International College of Surgeons.
In September 2007, the ICS Singapore Section ran two Workshops. The first was between 13 and 16 September 2007 in Singapore, called the International IVF Workshop on: (1) Semenology And IUI, and (2) Embryo Cryopreservation by Slow Freezing and Vitrification. It was a very successful meeting, both in terms of promotion of the ICS Singapore Section and attendance.
The next Workshop – the Singapore-India-Australia-International Cryopreservation Workshop and Symposium was held in Hyderabad, India between 9-10 February 2008, was also overwhelmingly successful and the participants have asked for more workshops for the future. The Minister of Transport opened the meeting in Hyderabad giving the Workshop great prestige honour.
The Singapore Section had a major achievement when its Section President, Professor Christopher Chen became elected to World Presidency during the World Congress held in Thailand in year 2006. He was made President Elect and took office as World President of the entire College from 2009 to 2010. He is now the Immediate Past World President as of 2011.
The Singapore Section also saw an increase in representation in the Governing Body of the World College and during the latest held in Manila in November 2010, the following were elected to office:
Dr Eddie Chang – one of 3 Additional Members of the Executive Council (2011-2014), Dr Easaw Thomas – one of 16 Vice President (2011-2012), and Drs Gan San San, Hii Hoi Chin, Timothy Lee, Ernest Lim, Leela Nair, Elias Tam and Anjula Thomas – one of 30 Additional Governors (2011-2012).
Clearly the Singapore Section has made enormous strides over the years.
Professor K Satku, Director of Medical Services, Ministry of Health, Singapore was bestowed the Honorary Fellowship of the College by Professor Christopher Chen as World President of the College in the year 2006.
Undoubtedly, the Singapore Section continues to grow not only in numbers but also in achievements in the years to come.