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SINGAPORE : Singapore's private medical service providers are showing some resilience amid rising inflationary pressures.
A combination of efficiency, bulk purchases with locked-in prices, and focused target markets have helped protect them from the same margin crunch as other plays on the market.
Some specialist medical providers said their costs have only increased in the single digit range for the past six months.
"The patients who come to us tend to come to us with complex illnesses like cancers, requiring major surgeries, so on and so forth, and that in a way has improved our revenue intensity on a per patient basis," said Dr Goh Jin Hian, president of Singapore Division at Parkway Health.
But while the medical players may be able to weather the cost increases, they said manpower remains a key problem.
Manpower cost eats up at least 45 per cent of the revenue for some players, and with the sector growing, firms are under increasing pressure to meet their staffing requirements.
Some are therefore hoping for the medical manpower market in Singapore to open up like the service sector, especially for positions involved in routine work.
"I think if we open up, at least the across-the-board staff could be easily filled up as against now, relying on locals. And some locals are not keen to take up these jobs," said Allan Yeo Hwee Tiong, group CEO of Thomson Medical Group.
Shares in Parkway Holdings have slipped by about 36 per cent since the beginning of the year, and Thomson Medical shares are down by about 9 per cent, compared to a 22 per cent drop in the benchmark Straits Times Index. - CNA /ls
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