The new general hospital that has been planned in Sengkang to serve residents in northeastern Singapore will be ready by 2020 and will come with adjoining community hospital facilities.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan gave details about the planned development during his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate in Parliament on Friday.
Mr Khaw also revealed that the upcoming Jurong General Hospital (JGH) will be named the “Ng Teng Fong Hospital” following a private donation of S$125 million from the family of the late property tycoon. Mr Ng is the founding chairman of the Far East Organization and Sino Group. The hospital will be ready in 2014.
The new general hospital in the northeast will be located along Sengkang East Road right next to the Cheng Lim LRT station. It will also be within walking distance of Sengkang MRT Station.
Next to the general hospital will be a community hospital that will provide sub-acute care and rehabilitative services for patients.
Putting in place a general hospital and community hospital side by side is a model similar to the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) in Yishun and the upcoming Ng Teng Fong Hospital.
Mr Khaw said: “All the three new general hospitals will have community hospitals adjoining them, and this will double our current community hospital capacity. These are multi-billion dollar investments.
“But they are worthy investments. Together with TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) serving the central and CGH (Changi General Hospital) serving the east, they will realise our vision of bringing healthcare close to the residents living in each region of Singapore. Good healthcare will be within 30 minutes of every patient.”
He added: “Given a lead time of six or seven years to design and build, it is not too soon nor too late to start planning. I have asked the SingHealth cluster to assemble a young outstanding team to take charge of this project. I will challenge them to build a hospital, (which will be) even better than KTPH and JGH, measured from the patients’ point of view.”
The new hospitals in Sengkang will cater to more than 700,000 residents in Sengkang, Punggol, Hougang and Pasir Ris.
Mr Khaw said that with the projected increase in population, a new polyclinic will also be built in Punggol to lighten the load at Sengkang Polyclinic.
To meet the challenges of an ageing population, S$50 million will also pumped to redevelop five existing polyclinics in Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Geylang, Tampines and Yishun over the next five years.
As for manpower needs, Mr Khaw said the third Medical School at Nanyang Technological University is on track to take its first batch of students in 2013.
Together with the other two medical schools in Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Duke NUS Medical school, he said some 500 doctors will be trained annually.
And, supplemented by foreign graduates, there should be adequate doctors to meet the needs of Singapore.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 4 Mar 2011