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Sengkang Hospital targeted to be completed by 2018

If you’ve been frustrated by the long wait at public hospitals or the long travel time to reach one, it might bring some relief to hear that the new Sengkang Hospital is now set to be completed two years earlier than planned.

The Health Ministry is seeking to bring forward the building completion date to 2018 and to open Sengkang Hospital in phases thereafter, announced Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on Thursday.

The hospital will serve residents living in north-eastern Singapore and free up capacity and bed space in the other public hospitals.

Writing in his blog, Gan said hospital building programmes have been accelerated to keep pace with the rising healthcare needs of the population.

Between 2014 and 2015, the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Jurong Community Hospital in the west as well as Yishun Community Hospital in the north will be opened. A number of nursing homes will also be opening over the next few years.

However, Gan pointed out that adding more beds will only alleviate part of the strain on healthcare providers.

 “We also need to find more innovative and cost effective ways to deliver health-care services and to optimise the use of our healthcare capacity,” stressed Gan.

“That is why the Sengkang hospital, when it is ready, will need to work closely with other healthcare partners (e.g. nursing homes, GPs and home healthcare providers) in the same region to provide coordinated and seamless care,” he said.

The health ministry is hoping to finalise its Primary Care Partnership Scheme by early next year and is working on an intermediate and long-term care master plan to address the challenges of Singapore’s ageing population.

Said the minister, “As we build more healthcare facilities, we will need the continued support and understanding of Singaporeans, especially those who live in the vicinity of these facilities, so that we can meet Singapore’s immediate and future healthcare needs."