Clinical Support Services

Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care is a ministry of presence offered to all our patients, their families and their carers by our Pastoral Care Team. Staff are specially qualified to give such support. Pastoral Care enables you to share your anxieties about yourself, your family or any concern you may wish to talk about. We provide spiritual, emotional and social support. Ministers of different religions are most welcome to visit their own patients. Your health is dependent on your total well-being and the care offered by people who love you.

The Pastoral Care Service at Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital offers the services of caring people- priests, ministers, religious sisters and lay people to assist you in your spiritual and personal needs. We believe that total care embraces the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each patient. A period in hospital could be a painful experience for you… separation from family, interruption to work, fear of the unknown, unease of soul, can cause anxiety, frustration and loneliness. You need to be cared for in this time of sickness, and pastoral care personnel endeavor to offer this in ways that are appropriate to each individual person. Some patients find that a period in hospital leads them to reflect on their life and to listen to God speaking to them in their present suffering.

Visits

Our Pastoral Care Sisters visit you everyday. Your own minister is welcome to visit you at any time. Chaplains, Pastors and Ministers of other faiths and traditions are available on request.

Sacramental Ministry for Catholics

Holy Communion is available daily. If you so wish, please contact Pastoral Care Sister or your ward staff.

Sacramental Reconciliation for Catholics

This is available on request. This Sacrament is a celebration of God’s healing touch.

Sacrament of healing or Anointing of the sick

Many understand this Sacrament as applying to the dying or those gravely ill but the real nature of this Sacrament is to heal, to give courage and strength and to restore the wholeness of body and spirit. In faith we look to Christ, through His Church, to heal and make us new.

This Sacrament is available on request.

Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital Inter-faith Memorial Service

Is conducted annually, for all those who have died during the year. This is open to all bereaved families and friends.

Hospital Chapel

Patients and visitors are welcome to visit the Hospital Chapel for prayer and reflection during the day.

Dietetics Counselling

The aim of our Dietitian is to provide dietetic counselling to patients.

The counselling program includes the participation of the patients’ relatives as they would be directly involved in the dietary management of the patients at home.

What is Nutrition and Dietetics?

It is the applied combination of nutrition science and nutritional care in health and illness. A dietitian is a qualified health professional who can assist you with nutrition counselling and your dietary management.

What Dietitians Do?

We provide information on food preparation methods, foods to buy, and food substitutes equivalent in nutrients all within the dietary recommendations. Dietitians also share and deliver scientific knowledge to the public and provide ways on how we can apply it to our daily life.

The Benefits of Good Dietary Management

Prevention of diseases
Prevention of compromised nutritional status caused by unhealthy diet and/or illness
Faster recovery from illness
Reduction of risk in developing nutrition-related complications related to disease

Who can Benefit from Nutrition Counselling ?

Individuals experiencing side effects from radiotherapy or chemotherapy (e.g. weight loss, nausea, diarrhea etc.) and are unable to eat normally
Individuals with medical problems that may require good dietary management like diabetes, heart disease, renal and liver disease, Parkinson, etc.
Individuals with special dietary needs like pregnant mothers, growing children and the elderly
Individuals requiring healthy weight loss or weight gain strategies
Individuals seeking to adopt a healthy diet and lifestyle

How can a Dietitian Help You?

Assess your needs and lifestyle
Help answer your food queries and concerns
Personalize a plan suitable for you by taking into consideration your likes, dislikes and routine
Provide follow-up to support you in your progress

How to Benefit?

Enquiries and appointments can be made through the out-patient department or nurses’ reception counter in St Francis ward. They will refer you to our Dietitian.

Medical Physicist

A Medical Physicist’s primary role is to assure that the highest level of quality care is maintain in the planning and treatment management of the patient. The Medical Physicist also maintains the quality assurance programme in radiation oncology. The physicist is responsible for commissioning the equipment used in radiation therapy. He /She also contributes to the development of development of therapeutic techniques such as Brachytherapy, Stereotactic Radiosurgery and collaborate with radiation oncologists in planning and management of each patients treatment plan. The Medical Physicist is also responsible to ensure that all the radiation equipment is in good working order.

Pharmacy

Our team from the Pharmacy department is here to take care of your medication needs and reconstitution of cytotoxic drugs for chemotherapy.

Laboratory

Laboratory testing plays a crucial role in detection, diagnosis and cancer treatment management. Our team of Medical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians examine and analyze blood and other body fluids utilizing state of the art equipments to provide a vast volume of information to enable your doctors to prescribe appropriate treatments. This is to ensure that you receive the best treatment and also to monitor the progress of your treatment.

Patients Education Programme

Our Patient Education Team members will explain to you the type of treatment that you are going to receive, the side effects which may occur as a result of the treatment and steps to be taken to overcome it. All this information will help to cope with your treatment and understanding of the treatment process.