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Optimising resources in public healthcare

18 Jan 2017 2 min read

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The Ministry of Health will be working on improving the quality and productivity for all levels of the healthcare services.

The Singapore’s public healthcare sector will be undergoing major restructuring which will be completed by 2018.  The current six regional health systems will be integrated into three clusters.

The reorganization of clusters will offer a fuller range of services, and patients can expect a more seamless care. Facilities which fall within the same region will be grouped together, including general hospitals, community hospitals and also polyclinics.

Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) will merge with the Eastern Health Alliance which oversees Changi General Hospital; The National Healthcare Group (NHG) and Alexandra Health System which Operates Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital, will join forces; and the National University Health System will be paired with Jurong Health Services which runs Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

Health Minister Mr Gan Kim Yong said in a statement, “I am confident that we will be able to better optimize resources and capabilities, and provide more comprehensive and patient-centered care to meet Singaporeans’ evolving needs.”

Minister of State for Health, Mr Chee Hong Tat also shared the same message at another event. He said automating the healthcare industry would be a possible response to increasing demand in the industry, even as its labour force slows.

Citing the new robotic bottle medication dispensing system at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital’s Emergency Pharmacy which loads, pics and packs bottles and labels medication bottles, Mr Chee said, “By stretching our limited manpower resources with automation, reinventing care models and streamlining work processes, our healthcare staff can focus more on patient care and serve more patients.”

Mr Chee added that the healthcare institutions have to deliver safer care, such as what the National Kidney Foundation is doing when a team of nurses developed a catheter care bundle which improves their standard hygiene procedure. When this bundle was introduced, central line-related infections rate at participating NKF dialysis centres decreased 4 times, from 7.14 per 100 patients to 1.45 per 100 patients.

Photo credit: Minister of State Mr Chee Hong Tat’s Facebook