Professor Chew Chin Hin, FRCP Edin
Professor Chew Chin Hin, FRCP Edin
Born 23rd October 1931, Singapore
Died 14th December 2024, Singapore
A renowned figure in medicine in Singapore who, after early training in Edinburgh, became a chest physician active in the initiation of short course tuberculosis treatment in his country. Professor Chew was notably successful in raising the international profile of internal medicine in that country while championing medical education and teaching, becoming Master of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore.
Professor Chew Chin Hin, known as Cecil as a school boy but as ‘Chin Hin’ to friends when growing up, was born in Singapore in 1931. His father, Dr Benjamin Chew, was a respected physician at the General and Tan Tock Seng Hospitals, and observing his role and care for patients, especially during the tumult and trauma of World War II, inspired in a young Chin Hin a commitment to and passion for medicine that would remain with him through his life.
After graduating MBBS from the University of Hong Kong in 1955, Chin Hin trained as a physician, and spent time in Edinburgh where he was influenced by past Presidents of The Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh Sir John Crofton and Ronald Foote Robertson (later Physician to the Queen in Scotland). He passed the MRCP (Edin) in 1961. After positions at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong and then the General Hospital in Singapore, he became Senior Medical Officer at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital in February 1961; the Tan Tock Seng would be his place of work for more than 20 fulfilling years. In 1964 he was appointed Consultant Chest Physician and would go on to serve the hospital as Senior Physician, Foundation Head of the Department of Medicine IV, and finally as its Medical Director. In 1982 he left the hospital to become Deputy Director of Medical Services in Singapore’s Ministry of Health where he would serve with distinction until his retirement in 1991. He established Aviation Medicine as a Medical Specialty and sat on the Civil Aviation Medical Board, which he helped to set up, and became its chairman.
During his time as a respiratory clinician and afterwards at the Ministry of Health he was at the forefront of the successful efforts in those decades to tackle tuberculosis in Singapore and he frequently presented his work internationally. He chaired Singapore’s TB Research Committee and his individual published research was substantial. Notably, in collaboration with the UK Medical Research Council, in the early 1970s he led the Singaporean clinical trials of the short courses of chemotherapy for treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis; the findings of this research still provide the basis internationally for best practice in this treatment. The esteem in which he was held for his work on TB was demonstrated when he was elected President of the 26th World Congress on TB and Respiratory Diseases in 1986.
While active in many areas of medical life in Singapore, he was especially acclaimed for his commitment to medical education, both undergraduate and postgraduate. He inspired generations of local doctors who would recall the encouragement and generosity he offered them as medical students and in their early training. For many years from 1963 he lectured at Singapore University’s Department of Medicine and then served as the Deputy Director at its School of Postgraduate Medical Studies, later as its Honorary Postgraduate Adviser. He was also a long-serving member of both the Ministry of Health’s Specialist Training Committee in Internal Medicine and the Joint Committee on Specialist Training. He was a meticulous undergraduate and postgraduate examiner up to MRCP and the PACES examinations. He retained a keen interest in all aspects of medical education and exams in Singapore until shortly before his death. In a 2017 interview Chin Hin summarised his views on the importance of education and teaching: “ Medical education is a lifelong process. Medicine is a calling, never a trade, and you must keep updating yourself. The title “doctor” is derived from the Latin word “docere” (to teach); thus, you have to continue teaching and imparting knowledge.”
Chin Hin developed and maintained good relationships with colleagues and organisations across the globe and enjoyed hosting and meeting visiting clinicians and Medical Royal College leaders when they came to Singapore. Admired by many of these institutions, his Fellowship awards included the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Edinburgh and London, and he was the first non-Australian to be conferred Fellowship by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and similarly the first non-resident Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Physicians in recognition of his advice in setting up the College. In 2010 he was the first Singaporean to be awarded the prestigious Mastership in the American College of Physicians. The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, for whom he served as an International Regional Adviser, presented him with its Gold Medal in recognition of his work in raising standards of medical education in Singapore. He had been a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine of Singapore since 1963 and became its ninth Master in 1973-75. The importance of his work in medicine and medical education was recognised by the award from the Singaporean state of its Public Administration Gold Medal in 1982.
After retirement he remained deeply involved in all aspects of medicine in Singapore and continued to serve on numerous committees where his experience proved of major value. He was Chairman of the National Medical Ethics Committee and initiated the Advanced Medical Directive in Singapore. Colleagues were astonished by his energy and enthusiasm for all things medical, never diminishing even in his tenth decade. A committed Christian and devoted family man, Chin Hin also took up golf in his retirement. His family recall a soft-spoken man of few words who would avoid rash, quick decisions and instead come to well-thought out, informed positions. Friends and those who worked with him describe a man of high intelligence, seriousness and integrity who was at the same time modest, compassionate and kind. Paying tribute to him at his Memorial Service, Professor Andrew Elder, President of the RCP Edinburgh, remembered him as “a humble, friendly and warm man, ever interested in the lives and works of others.”
His beloved wife, Anna Hui, also a physician, whom he had met as a student when studying at University in Hong Kong, predeceased him by only a few weeks in November 2024. Anna Hui and Professor Chew both died in the same ward in the Tan Tock Seng Hospital which had played such a central role in their lives. The Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Nanyang Technological University Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine have since jointly established The Chin Hin and Anna Chew Professorship. Professor Chew is survived by his four children, Elaine, Eileen, Eirene and Edward, and two grandchildren Caleb Euan and Sarah Jade.
Douglas Pattullo