Novena will soon boast a 17-hectare mega integrated healthcare hub built around Tan Tock Seng Hospital. It is set to be completed by 2030.
It will link up healthcare facilities, as well as the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, to form “Health City Novena”.
The project was spearheaded by Tan Tock Seng Hospital, the National Healthcare Group and the Health Ministry.
Central Singapore is ageing faster than the rest of the country — the population of seniors aged 65 and above in the area is about 15 per cent, compared to the national average of 10 per cent.
Thus, the launch of Health City Novena is timely.
From acute to intermediate and long-term care, Health City Novena will offer the full range of holistic care services.
It will also extend beyond healthcare to encompass a complete and holistic eco-system that includes health services, research and education, commercial, leisure and public spaces.
Health City Novena will also see more resources channelled to ambulatory and intermediate care, including rehabilitation, sub-acute care and palliative care, to facilitate the transition of patients back to the community and health.
It includes a proposed development called the Integrated Intermediate Care Hub (IICH) which comprises Dover Park Hospice and a proposed second community hospital. This is for patients who are in need of step-down care.
Health Minster Gan Kim Yong said: “Hubs will be created within Health City to foster better integration of care between healthcare providers.
“For example, the Community Care Hub will consist of the existing Ren Ci Hospital and a future intermediate care facility — both of which will be linked to Tan Tock Seng Hospital for seamless patient transfers.”
Professor Chee Yam Cheng, Group CEO of the National Healthcare Group, is hoping that the billing system is integrated throughout the various facilities.
He said: “We hope for the billing system to be the same. So that when patients come to an acute facility through the emergency department, the care will be seamless through the various facilities according to their needs and then they can go home from there.”
Another development is the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, which is a hospital with isolation wards, intensive care units and support facilities including laboratories.
The centre will also serve as a research and training ground to boost expertise in the field.
When Health City Novena is fully developed, healthcare-related space in Novena will jump by 150 per cent.
Total bed capacity for Health City is expected to increase by 12 per cent for acute care, and 60 per cent for intermediate step-down care.
This would mean that for every 10 acute beds, the number of step-down beds in Health City will increase from four to six.
This facilitates patients’ transition back to the community.
The developments will be conducted in two phases. The first phase of construction is targeted for completion between 2018 and 2020, while the second phase will be completed by 2030.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital sees about 15,000 people visiting its premises everyday. By the time Health City Novena has been built around 2030, this number is expected to double to about 30,000.
People will find it easier to move around as the buildings in this area will be connected via a network of roads, bridges and basement carparks.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 30 Aug 2013