To meet growing public healthcare needs, Sengkang Hospital will be completed in 2018, two years ahead of schedule, according to the Health Minister.
This is in line with the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) efforts to speed up the building of new hospitals and add hospital beds to bring convenience to restructured hospitals in Singapore.
In his blog post yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that the hospital building programme has to hasten up “to keep pace with the rising healthcare needs of the population.”
Sengkang Hospital was previously set for completion in 2020 but the date has been changed and it is being opened in phases to serve residents living in the northeast.
However, Mr Gan also noted that “adding more beds to the system is only part of the solution. We also need to find more innovative and cost-effective ways to deliver healthcare services and to optimise the use of our healthcare capacity.”
To provide coordinated and seamless care, hospitals like the one in Sengkang will closely work with partners like general practitioners, nursing homes and home healthcare providers within the neighbourhood.
Recent discussions regarding the shortage of doctors and beds in public hospitals focused on the possibility of more public-private partnership solutions.
Related Stories:
URA working on new rules for advertisements
URA launches new building guidelines
Be prudent when purchasing property, urges Khaw