SINGAPORE : The National Kidney Foundation has handed over the
NKF Cancer Fund to the Singapore Cancer Society.
Both charities say the transfer will benefit cancer patients, as
programmes are now streamlined and provided by one central
organisation.
With the move, the NKF Cancer Fund will cease to exist.
Its patients, along with a balance of some S$2.95 million under the
NKF Cancer Fund, will now be managed by the Singapore Cancer
Society.
The society offered to help take care of the Cancer Fund when a
public outcry in July threatened the viability of the NKF.
As part if its restructuring exercise to focus on helping kidney
patients, NKF decided that the society, which has 40 years of
experience caring for cancer patients, is the perfect fit to take
over its cancer charity work.
Said Gerard Ee, chairman of NKF, "Singapore Cancer Society is
well-known for its mission of helping cancer patients. And after
talking with them, checking on their background, the board, their
mission, their capabilities, we're very confident that they'll do a
good job of continuing the work for the Cancer Fund.
"For the community, from the public's perspective, it's so much
easier to have one organisation focused on cancer. So anyone who
needs help because they are a cancer patient, go to the Singapore
Cancer Society. There's no confusion -- why do you go to an
organisation that's supposed to help kidney patients for help
relating to cancer?"
The NKF Cancer Fund was set up in November last year.
In July, the first NKF Cancer Fund Charity Show raised S$11
million.
The show itself cost some S$5 million.
Some money has been used to help 113 cancer patients, which will
now come under the Cancer Society.
But patients under the NKF Cancer Fund will not be affected.
The National Kidney Foundation and the Singapore Cancer Society say
the patients will continue to receive the subsidies promised to
them.
The amount of subsidy they get may change, though, after the
society irons out the kinks from the handover.
Said Dr Koo Wen Hsin, chairman of the Singapore Cancer Society,
"When we looked through the programmes and the beneficiaries that
were handed over to us, we noticed a little bit of discrepancies
between NKF and Cancer Society's criteria. We will comb through all
the details once we receive all the documents, so that we make sure
that every single dollar of public donation is well spent; every
single item is well accounted for.
"For example, there are patients who receive assistance from Cancer
Society and at the same time they also applied for assistance
through NKF. So we will review their eligibility and criteria to
see whether they should continue to receive assistance from both
sides."
He added, "If there's indication for them to receive medical
treatment under the assistance of the Cancer Society while
receiving welfare from NKF, I think that's perfectly in order. But
if they're receiving the same assistance from both organisations
then it's justified for us to review the criteria."
The handover means the society will have over S$11 million to care
for 800 over cancer patients.
Said Dr Koo, "This is certainly no windfall, because this amount of
money is not going to last a long time. We will continue to raise
funds so that we can continue to support these people."
NKF says the transfer will not result in any lay-offs, since none
of its staff was employed to solely oversee the year-old NKF Cancer
Fund.
NKF is now in talks with potential parties to take over the NKF
Children's Medical Fund by early next year.
This comes as the foundation continues on its journey of rebuilding
public trust.
As part of its transparency exercise, NKF has revamped its
website.
The public can now look up information on its basic operating
costs, donor and patient numbers on the website.
Mr Ee says four months since the public furore over former NKF
chief executive TT Durai's bonuses and pay packages, fewer people
have called to cancel their donation pledges.
But the foundation urgently needs to raise funds to build two
dialysis centres, each costing S$2.5 million, to serve kidney
patients in Woodlands and Ang Mo Kio.
NKF is expected to make public its reserves situation in December.
- CNA /ct