Dr Chan Kin Ming

Dr Chan Kin Ming is a geriatrician at Gleneagles Hospital, Singapore.

His special interests are in cognitive impairment and dementia, sarcopenia, falls and non-specific complaints in seniors.

He was the former head of the department of geriatric medicine at Changi General Hospital. He was also the head of the department at the Alexandra Geriatric Centre at Alexandra Hospital.

Dr Chan graduated from the National University of Singapore and did his master’s degree there. He did a short stint in the blood bank and department of haematology at Singapore General Hospital and then went to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, becoming one of the earliest doctors to start the first department of geriatric medicine in Singapore. He was awarded the Health Manpower Development Plan to hone his skills in geriatric medicine and interned at the Victoria geriatric unit of the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow, UK. During this time, he obtained a diploma in geriatric medicine from the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians of Glasgow, UK.

Upon his return to Singapore, he was tasked to start the first geriatric centre and the first geriatric day hospital in Singapore – the Alexandra Geriatric Centre at Alexandra Hospital. He is a fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. He has been practising medicine for more than 40 years.

Dr Chan has published the first textbook on geriatric medicine called “Geriatric Medicine for Singapore”. This textbook became the standard textbook by doctors attending the graduate diploma in geriatric medicine course and by nurses studying for the gerontological nursing course. In addition, he also published two other books for laypersons – “Common Problems of the Aged” and “The Golden Years – A Caregivers’ Guide”.

He has been an expert witness as well as a court-appointed expert witness for several cases in the Singapore Family Court, Mental Capacity Court and High Court, as well as in the New South Wales Guardianship Tribunal (New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal) and the Guardianship Tribunal (Sydney, Australia). His specialist reports have also been submitted to the Indonesian Court.

Dr Chan was appointed by the United Nations as the geriatric specialist to assess fitness-for-trial of senior Khmer Rouge leaders. He has also testified before judges at the trial chambers on the cognitive and physical fitness to stand trial of two accused. He also helped to modify the Abbreviated Mental Test (a test of cognitive function) into the Khmer language and helped to train doctors (psychiatrists and neurologists) from the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital, Phnom Penh, to administer this test.

He is a reviewer for the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, and the Singapore Medical Journal. He is also a reviewer for grants for the National Medical Research Council. He is a teaching faculty for the Master of Medicine (Public Health), Master in Healthcare Management, and the diploma in family medicine course and fellowship in family medicine for the College of Family Physicians.

Dr Chan is a member of the Osteoporosis Society of Singapore, the American Geriatric Society, the Diabetic Society of Singapore, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Gerontological Society of Singapore and Dementia Singapore.

He is a recipient of the Public Service Medal.