Power of touch: TTSH to scale care programme across all wards after finding it improves care

SINGAPORE – Something as simple as a hand massage has helped some healthcare staff at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) to care for dementia patients over the past 10 years. Now, this care initiative is bringing the power of touch to other patients in the hospital.

“It’s about being with the patients,” said Dr Noorhazlina Ali, who introduced this Namaste Care programme to Singapore in 2015.

This was after she learnt about the programme – created for people living with advanced dementia – from its founder Joyce Simard during a study trip to the United States.

“In Namaste Care, I sit beside the patient, I hold the patient’s hand, I talk to the patient, or I don’t even utter anything. I’ll just massage the patient and be with that patient,” added Dr Noorhazlina, who heads the geriatric medicine department at TTSH.

“There are times when our patients just cannot communicate with us, and this is one way of making them feel seen, respecting their dignity, having that human touch.”

Namaste Care at TTSH uses multisensory interventions such as touch, calming music and aromatherapy to support patients with various conditions such as dementia, chronic illnesses, stroke or nearing their end of life.

Currently, the patients hospitalised in the 16 wards at TTSH’s Integrated Care Hub (ICH) can attend a weekly Namaste Care group session run by nurses and volunteers. Lasting about 20 to 30 minutes, the session typically starts with a five-minute hand massage accompanied by soothing music, and may continue with a grooming session like nail trimming or a nail polish session, for instance.

By the end of the year, patients at the main TTSH building will also get to experience Namaste Care sessions.

Although this is usually done in a group setting, it can also be done at the bedside if needed or at home. TTSH has trained 89 caregivers in two workshops so far, and expects to conduct two a year.

“It allows a caregiver to have that bond with… their loved ones. And when they visit the hospital, they know what to do because most of the time when you visit your loved ones in the hospital, you just don’t know what to do,” said Dr Noorhazlina.

“Nowadays, people just focus on the things that our dementia patients can’t do, but in Namaste Care, you give them choices. They decide whether they want to be touched or not.

“It’s through these choices that you’re respecting the person, and oftentimes, we don’t give our elderly choices.”

It has taken a decade to scale Namaste Care at TTSH, after it was first piloted in a recovery ward. One challenge was Asians being less open to touch.

“But what we have done is to start from the ends of our limbs, which are the hands… because sometimes, comfort can just be given through touching of the hands. And once our patients allow us to go further… eventually, you’ll be able to touch their face and their hair,” said Dr Noorhazlina.

The biggest challenge was making healthcare staff understand that it should be a part of standard care because they viewed it as additional work.

Senior staff nurse Alice Ha Nguyen Cam Thu, the programme’s nurse coordinator, was initially sceptical.

“I’m task-oriented, so I just want to finish my work as soon as possible, take care of the patient and go home. So when Namaste Care was introduced to me… it felt like extra work. I thought, ‘Will I get extra pay for it?’,” she shared with reporters at a media event held at ICH on April 15.

But she saw results. “In our dementia ward, a lot of patients have agitation, aggression, hallucination, and it’s very difficult for nurses to intervene for tasks like changing diapers, taking blood, or just bringing them to the toilet,” she said.

Madam Wong Lai Quen with her husband Steven Lau. Namaste Care uses multisensory interventions such as touch, calming music and aromatherapy to support patients.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

“With Namaste Care, I only needed to spend five minutes sitting with them, massaging their hand, without the need to say a word and the patient would then calm down.”

Dr Noorhazlina said her breakthrough came when she started training more people, including volunteers, to provide the care, and they recognised that “this is so human”.

Her team also secured a $96,000 funding from Lien Foundation in 2025 to step up the expansion.

“There are three things in life that we are lacking in: touch, time and trust,” she said.

“When I mentioned this to the caregivers in my recent workshop… caregivers started to realise, ‘I haven’t been spending time with my loved ones – I don’t even touch or hug my loved ones’. So this is a way of bonding.”

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