Raffles Hospital in North Bridge Road. Circa 2005

Nestled in the central-western area of Singapore, Alexandra Hospital is a five-minute drive from the nearest MRT station. It is a 400-bed general and acute care hospital, offering its patients the very best in personalized care and a tranquil, healing environment. This garden hospital of Alexandra Hospital today is a far cry from what it was 66 years ago – in 1938. Tel: (65) 6472 2000 Fax: (65) 6379 3880

CGH offers a comprehensive range of medical and paramedical services. The hospital’s motto, "Caring For The Community In The East" encapsulates Changi General Hospital’s (CGH)'s long-term objective to serve as a healthcare hub in the east. Mainline - General Enquiry (24 hrs) 6788 8833: Fax: 6788 0933

KK Women's and Children's Hospital, or simply KKH, is the largest medical facility in Singapore which provides specialised care in the areas of obstetrics and gynaecology, neonatalogy and paediatrics. Tel: 6293 4044 Fax: 6293 7933

With 21 clinical, 3 dental and 6 paramedical departments, as well as numerous specialist outpatient clinics and specialised service centres, NUH has a comprehensive range of services available to meet the growing needs of its patients. It also has a pool of more than 3000 professional staff providing round-the-clock personalised care to our patients every day of the year. Tel: (65) 6779 5555
Fax: (65) 6779 5678 Email: enquiries@nuh.com.sg.

Raffles Hospital is a 380-bed tertiary care private hospital offering a full complement of specialist services using the most advanced medical technology. Call Centre Tel: (65) 6311 1111
Fax: (65) 6311 2136

SGH is Singapore's oldest and largest acute tertiary hospital and national referral centre. With about 1,400 beds and a pool of over 500 specialists, SGH accounts for about a quarter of the total acute hospital beds in the public sector and about one-fifth of acute beds nationwide. Tel: 6222 3322 Fax: 6224 9221

Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), established in 1844, is the second largest hospital in Singapore, with specialty centres in Rehabilitation Medicine and Communicable Diseases. The hospital is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and medical equipment, as well as the latest communication and information technology tools. Tel : 6256 6011 Fax : 6256 7282

  A new S$257-million medical centre, the Novena Medical Centre, will be built directly over the Novena MRT station and across the road from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). It will be linked to TTSH by a tunnel and an air-conditioned overhead bridge that will be wide enough for trolley beds to be pushed across. The new medical centre, which will open in 2005, will have 136 medical suites occupying 13,000 sq m. It will be allowed to use all the hospital's facilities at market rates. (Straits Times 29 Nov 2002) (4)

  Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has plans for a new short-stay ward to ease the congestion in its packed accident and emergency (A&E) department. Close to 400 patients turn up at its A&E every day. At other hospitals, numbers range from about 270 a day at the National University Hospital to 360 at Changi General Hospital. The new short-stay wards will have between 12 and 20 beds and take in patients admitted through A&E for stays of up to 23 hours. They would be treated and discharged within a day. (Straits Times 28 Oct 2002) (6) 

  At least two hospitals have run out of the highly-subsidised C-class beds as patients opt for the cheapest beds because of the economic downturn. Two hospitals have also closed down their less popular B2-plus wards to convert them to B2- or C-class bed wards. (Straits Times 24 Oct 2002) (1)

  There are now about 80,000 Singaporeans with heart failure. The number of people hospitalised for the condition here has doubled over the past 10 years. Last year, there were as many as 5,000. While most of the sufferers were above 65 years old, some were in their 20s and 30s. Symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, fatigue and swelling in the legs. Heart failure can be caused by a heart attack, high blood pressure, an enlarged heart, abnormal heart valves, diabetes and smoking. (Straits Times 17 Oct 2002) (H3)

  The Health Ministry will publicise costs of services and items in hospitals so that patients can judge which hospital, ward or service suits their pocket best. Hospital bills will now indicate the estimated total charges, including doctor's fees for a particular episode of care. The current practice of providing the average bill for a day will be refined to better reflect the different types of treatment and their complexity. Hospitals will also provide itemised charges so that patients know exactly what they are being charged for. (Straits Times 5 Oct 2002) (1)

  Preliminary results of a study by KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) show that 60 per cent of grossly obese children have sleep apnoea, 36 per cent have diabetes, 40 per cent have high cholesterol and 5 per cent have hypertension. In Singapore, about 10 per cent of schoolchildren are obese and of these, 5 per cent or about 3,000 children are grossly obese. Results of the survey have shown that with diet and exercise, 57 per cent of the children have managed to reduce their weight by 6 per cent within eight weeks. (Straits Times 24 Sep 2002) (H1)

  The Government will set aside S$3.8 million a year to subsidise, from next month, up to 75 per cent of the medical bills of needy elderly patients who need doctors or nurses to treat them at home. About 3,500 need home nursing care, and 1,200 need to be seen at home by a doctor. The maximum monthly per capita income for a family to qualify is S$1,000. The subsidies will be dispensed through 11 homecare providers here, which are run by voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs). (Straits Times 233 Sep 2002) (H1)

  Of the S$700 million in hospital bills for patients in B2 and C classes of wards in the last financial year, only 3 per cent or about S$22 million, is paid by employee benefits, insurance or cash. The rest is covered by government subsidies and Medisave, MediShield and Medifund, according to the Health Ministry yesterday. The average B2- and C-class patients' bills are S$1,205 and S$756 respectively. Straits Times 17 Sep 2002) (5)

  At Alexandra Hospital, A and B1-class patients admitted from yesterday pay new fees which are about 2 to 3 per cent higher. At National University Hospital (NUH), charges for its subsidised wards stay unchanged but the average bill for its A-class patients is expected to go up by 1 to 2 per cent. (Straits Times 13 Sep 2002) (4)

  Charges at Woodbridge Hospital and KK Women's & Children's Hospital will go up by an average of 8 and 6 per cent respectively between now and October 2002. For most subsidised patients in major hospitals such as Singapore General, Changi General, Tan Tock Seng and Alexandra, the average increase is between 1 and 3 per cent. The new prices affect only the subsidised Class C and B2 wards. Changes for the non-subsidised A and B1 wards will be made known later. There is no change in polyclinic fees. Health Minister LIM Hng Kiang yesterday said that some of the hospitals would go further into the red without an increase. (Straits Times 12 Sep 2002) (3)

  Cancer patients will have one-stop cancer care at Tan Tock Seng Hospital at the end of the year. The hospital is spending an estimated S$20 million on two machines that will provide radiation therapy to patients whose cancers are best treated this way. (Straits Times 29 Jul 2002) (4)

  About 1,000 of the 1,800 doctors here insured by troubled Australian company United Medical Protection (UMP) have turned to London-based Medical Protection Society (MPS), which already insures the majority of doctors here, for new policies on top of their UMP policies. UMP is under provisional liquidation and stopped renewing policies or accepting new members in Singapore in early May. (Straits Times 6 Jul 2002) (4)

  There was one doctor to every 700 people here last year, an improvement over the one to 720 ratio in 2000, said Health Minister LIM Hng Kiang in Parliament yesterday. He said the shortfall came about because the intake of medical students had not kept pace with the population increase since 1993. There is also a shortage of doctors in the public sector, with a shortfall of 12 per cent. Mr LIM noted that the Government was looking at training 230 to 250 doctors here a year, with another 50 to 80 foreigners and Singaporeans graduating from overseas universities. He also said the shortage of nurses here had also improved a little, with the number of nurses increasing by 3.3 per cent last year over the figure for 2000. There is one nurse for every 300 people here. (Straits Times 21 May 2002) (H3)

  About 1,200 GPs out of about 2,000 GPs in Singapore participate in the National Healthcare Group's (NHG) Direct Access Scheme in which patients with urgent medical conditions gain direct admission into hospitals after they had seen the GPs. The patients need not wait at the hospital A&E departments. (Straits Times 20 May 2002) (H2)

  There are no plans to introduce means testing at government hospitals and polyclinics, said Health Minister LIM Hng Kiang yesterday. Means testing involves pegging the amount of subsidies a patients receives to his income so, the poorer the patient, the higher the subsidy. Yesterday, Mr LIM noted that means testing has been used for nursing-home residents since July 2000, and for hospice patients since October 2001. From July 1, it will be extended to patients at community hospitals, he said. (Straits Times 6 May 2002) (3)

  The collapse of United Medical protection (UMP), Australia's biggest health insurer, may affect about 1,800 doctors, or one in three who practise here, as they are insured with it. In the short term, they are still covered against malpractice claims, but if UMP folds, they may have to pay for any claims themselves, and the bill could run into millions of dollars. In Singapore, it is mandatory only for doctors in the public sector to have insurance. (Straits Times 3 May 2002) (5)

  At a world conference on infectious diseases held here yesterday, consultant microbiologist LING Moi Lin said Singapore hospitals and clinics now have policies and procedures mapped out to contain the overuse of antibiotics. Still, doctors, especially general practitioners, tend to prescribe antibiotics too liberally. Singapore doctors are issued guidelines on the use of antibiotics. But some doctors may not follow them, said Dr LING. (Straits Times 13 Mar 2002) (H2)

  A new S$52 million centre for infectious diseases, such as Aids, will be built on the grounds of the Tan Tock Seng Hospital, not far away from the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC). Unlike the CDC, the new building will also house stoke patients in rehabilitation. Health Ministry officials said the building's date of completion has not been finalised. In addition, a S$2.7 million super-laboratory will be built at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) to swiftly identify infectious diseases that are potentially dangerous to the population. The 100-sq-m lab will be ready in June this year. (Straits Times 12 Mar 2002) (1)

  London: A top British surgeon is to target Singapore and other countries to recruit 450 consultants to work in Britain for at least two years. Prime Minister Tony Blair has appointed Sir Magdi Yacoub as an international roving ambassador. His task is to sign on senior medics for British hospitals desperately short of staff. A Department of Health spokesman told The Straits Times, "Sir Magdi will scour the world for the consultants, including Singapore." (Straits Times 11 Mar 2002) (3) 

  From April 2002, every newborn at KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) will be given a hearing test within hours of being born. As many as six in 1,000 babies born here may have a hearing problem. 90 per cent of children with hearing defects have parents whose hearing is normal. (Straits Times 1 Mar 2002) (H7)

  From tomorrow, patients who are well enough to to go home but insist on remaining in hospital will have to pay the full price for their stay in government hospitals. The new ruling will be explained to all patients when they are admitted, the Health Ministry told The Straits Times yesterday. When the time comes for their discharge, the two health clusters will help them find beds in community hospitals or nursing homes. Every year, more than 150 people choose to stay in hospital although they are well enough to go home. Overstayers are often found in Class B2 and C wards. Overstaying is an old problem. In 1998, a ministry study found one in four patients overstayed a month or more. An October 2000 survey found about 175 overstayers in five restructured hospitals, including SGH and NUH. They took up 4 per cent of the total beds. (Straits Times 28 Feb 2002)(3) 

  Last year, National University Hospital (NUH) treated 16,767 non-resident foreign patients. They made up 5 per cent of all its patients. Some were hospitalised but the majority received outpatient treatment. A hospital spokesman said he hoped to increase the number of foreign patients to about 25,000 within two years. According to the health ministry, between 12,500 and 16,500 foreigners have been admitted to Singapore hospitals each year since 1995. These are people who have come just for medical treatment and spent some time in hospital. About four in five were treated by the private sector. (Straits Times 27 Feb 2002) (3)

  Doctors here have cured two cancer patients by using blood from umbilical cords, without first destroying their bone marrow with chemotherapy. Their success is a world first. One of the two had leukemia, or cancer of the blood; and the other had myeloma, or cancer of the bone marrow. However, it will be another three years before they can be sure they are fully cured, said Associate Professor Patrick TAN, head of Singapore General Hospital's Department of Haematology. (Straits Times 19 Feb 2002) (3)

  A second heart centre, called the National Heart Institute, has been set up. The departments planned for the new institute, part of health-care cluster National Healthcare Group, will be opened in stages. (Straits Times 16 Feb 2002) (3) 

  The exodus of doctors from the public sector eased considerably last year, with only 124 leaving, roughly half the number who left in 2000. A spokesman for the Health Ministry admitted that the economic downturn was a possible reason for fewer leaving, but cited other factors, such as higher salaries paid in 2000, better working conditions and the availability of more training opportunities, keeping doctors in service. In 1999, 162 doctors left the public sector. In 2000, the figure was higher, at 243. In an attempt to make up for the shortfall, 79 foreign doctors were recruited in 2000. (Straits Times 14 Feb 2002) (4)

  At Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), demand for a B2+ bed jumped by 20 per cent this year, while that for a C class one went up by 4 per cent. Over at National University Hospital (NUH), demand for C class beds went up by 6 per cent, while that for its B2 class beds was up by 4 per cent. SingHealth Hospitals - Singapore General, KK Women's and Children's and Changi General hospitals - saw a 6 per cent rise in demand for C class beds but a 10 per cent increase for B2+ ones over the last year. B2+ wards, which get a 50-per-cent subsidy, are air-conditioned with attached toilets and house five patients. (Straits Times 31 Dec 2001) (3)

  It will be six to eight years before a new hospital in the north can be ready and operational, a Ministry of Health (MOH) spokesman told The Straits Times. The spokesman said: "We are confirming the site for the hospital and building works are scheduled to commence in three years' time. Meanwhile the next new regional general hospital will be built in Jurong. The S$400 million, 650-room hospital, which will be ready in 2006, will be built on the Pioneer Junior College site in Jurong Town Hall Road. It will have about 2,000 employees, of which more than half will be nurses and about 10 per cent will be doctors. Alexandra Hospital will then be closed.(Straits Times 22 Nov 2001)(6)

  Only about 40 per cent of the 2,000 mothers who give birth at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) each year would ask for a scan, said senior consultant Ann TAN, chief of foetal maternal medicine at SGH. She urged all mums-to-be to go for the special ultra-sound scan, which costs only about S$35, as it enables them to check the health of their foetus. The test is 85 per cent accurate but must be completed when the foetus is between 11 and 14 weeks old. The risk of a baby having Down's Syndrome increases with the mother's age. At 20 years old, the risk is one in 1,500, compared to one in 100 at age 40. According to the national births defects registry, 39 babies were born with Down's Syndrome in 1998, while 32 foetuses with the condition were aborted. About 60 per cent of those with Down's Syndrome were born to mothers 35 years and older. (Straits Times 15 Nov 2001) (H1)

  Doctors at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) who disagree with family members about keeping a patient's life-support machine on will soon be able to turn to a panel of experts to settle the issue. The hospital announced on Tuesday that it will start a ethics-consultation service early next year. It will comprise members of the hospital's staff who have been trained to identify, analyse and resolve moral problems in clinical practice. (Straits Times 1 Nov 2001)(H16)

  Residents in Sengkang will get a new polyclinic by 2004. There are about 100,000 people living in Sengkang now, but the population will shoot up to 150,000 in 2005. The number of residents living in Punggol will rise to 95,000 by then. (Straits Times 2 Oct 2001) (H6)

  The Government has decided that all hospitals should provide C-class wards from September 2001, for all treatments. Explaining why all restructured hospitals had been directed to provide all patients the option of C-class treatment, a Health Ministry spokesman said that the ministry's stand was that class C should be available as a choice for all, regardless of medical condition. In the meantime, patients can start asking to be placed in C-class wards. If none is available, you get a B2 bed, at C-class charges. (Straits Times 7 Sep 2001)(1)

  Public Forum: What's new in the treatment of Common Skin Diseases - 15 Sep 2001

  Singapore urgently needs more now and a second medical school, said an international panel of medical experts. Singapore now has one doctor to 720 people, compared with one to 400 in the US and one to 600 in Britain. The panel also said that the current intake of 230 students may need to be redoubled in the next 10 years. The panel is also concerned that last year, half the doctors recruited by the public sector were trained overseas. So, there is compelling reason for a second medical school. But, if the Nanyang Technological University, which is keen on setting up a medical school, starts working on it today, it will take at least 10 years to do so, it noted. This is because NTU which is strong in engineering, does not teach the biological sciences, which should complement a medical school. (Straits Times 18 Aug 2001) (3)

 London: The number of overseas nurses signed on by British hospitals desperately short of medical staff rose by a staggering 41 per cent last year, new figures reveal. A record total of 8,403 nurses from more than 24 countries outside the European Union were recruited by Britain last year, compared with 5,945 in the previous year. Most came from the Philippines, which supplied 3,396 nurses, four times more than in the previous year. Others were from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia. (Straits Times 16 Aug 2001)(13)

  In a recent survey of 606 Singaporeans on health care here, 99% of those polled agreed when asked if hospitals should allow patients to stagger their payments. When asked if they thought health-care costs were affordable here, almost half said they were not. Nearly 7 in 10 agreed when asked if it was expensive to visit government specialist centres. Those interviewed in the survey said they waited an average of 57 minutes to see a public doctor, and one in 10 patients said they waited for more than two hours. Almost half said imposing a S$10 booking fee to cut waiting times would not be effective in shortening queues.  (Straits Times 21 Jun 2001)

  In the past three months, 15 specialists quit from the public health sector, compared with 12 in the same period last year. The number of registrars, or specialists-in-training, who left in that period remained at five. Last year, a total of 61 specialists and 25 registrars left the public sector, the largest number in recent years. The Health Ministry's director of medical services, Professor TAN Chorh Chuan, told The Straits Times the public sector is now short of about 100 specialists despite the return of several from the private sector and the recruitment of specialists from abroad. (Straits Times 20 Jun 2001)

  More Medisave money can now be used for the treatment of some serious illnesses, including cancer and to help couples conceive. The amounts that patients can claim for chemotherapy treatment will go up from S$100 to S$300 for a seven-day treatment and from S$400 to S$1,200 for a 21- to 28-day treatment. This takes effect for patients starting their treatment from today. The Ministry of Health (MOH) announcement yesterday said the changes "are to help ensure that Singaporeans are able to withdraw sufficient Medisave to cover their medical bills. The other major change affects couples seeking help to conceive. They can now use S$4,000 for each treatment cycle, up from S$2,000. But Medisave can only be used for up to three cycles. (Straits Times 1 Jun 2001)

  Five doctors from the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) will hold clinics at Changi General Hospital on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. They will also provide general gynaecological services to women living in the eastern part of Singapore. This is an effort by SingHealth, the public-health cluster to which the three hospitals belong, to improve service to patients. (Straits Times 9 May 2001)

  The two health clusters - one in the east and the other in the west of Singapore - that run all public hospitals and polyclinics will be designated as non-profit groups to make sure they remain public-service organisations. Health Minister LIM Hng Kiang said on 10 Mar 2001 that the restructuring of public health care is to make public hospitals and polyclinics more efficient and responsive - not more expensive. Giving the health clusters "not for profit" status makes sure this is absolutely clear. This means they will not be under pressure to pay dividends to shareholders. (Straits Times 11 Mar 2001)

  Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has increased its consultation charges at specialist- outpatient clinics by up to 70%. The cost of a follow-up appointment with a senior consultant has shot up from S$32 to S$55. Repeat consultations now cost from S$35 to S$55, depending on the grade of doctor, compared with the earlier S$22 to S$32. Fees for initial visits to specialist-outpatient clinics have gone up to between S$60 and S$80, up from S$42 - S$67. The fee revision, which took place from 1 Dec 2000, is the first at SGH since June 1997. (Straits Times 1 Jan 2001)