President Halimah Yacob welcomed 44 guests from HCA Hospice Care to a garden tour of the Istana yesterday.
The guests, who included patients, HCA staff and caregivers, got to explore various parts of the garden, which has tembusu trees, a Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid bed and a ginger garden. The hour-long tour also involved volunteer guides from the National Parks Board.
Garden Tours@Istana is one of President Halimah's initiatives to make the Istana more accessible to Singaporeans. Yesterday's tour was the third in the series. HCA, Singapore's largest home hospice care provider, has been a registered charity since 1989.
It caters to about 70 per cent of Singapore's home hospice and palliative care needs. HCA's home hospice care is provided at no charge to about 3,500 patients every year.