SINGAPORE: Patients in Singapore can expect better and more efficient healthcare services with a larger pool of professionals to be hired in the coming years.

In its latest update to bring forward recruitment plans, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it now has 6,200 job vacancies. Of these, 4,500 will be filled in the next two years.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan revealed this at the opening of the Queenstown Polyclinic on Tuesday.

Shorter waiting time and longer consultation periods with doctors are some improvements patients can look forward to now that MOH is intensifying recruitment to create more job opportunities for Singaporeans.

Mr Khaw said: "Previously, I had planned for it over five years and gradually we build up. Now that there is the economic downturn and there will be people who will get retrenched, we thought we might as well accelerate it. The will is there, the money is there and now it is just the people."

Other than doctors, nurses and pharmacists, more support and administrative staff are also required.

Mid-career professionals wanting to enter the sector can also take advantage of more career conversion opportunities. Other than nursing, they can now explore career conversion opportunities to become therapists, radiographers and many other jobs in the health sector.

For 2009, the ministry has already set aside a budget to fund 250 mid-career conversion opportunities.

Students interested in healthcare will also be able to take advantage of some 250 scholarships offered by the ministry this year. Should there be a stronger demand, the ministry is willing to offer more scholarships.

In these hard times, Mr Khaw said the ministry is also studying how the Medisave scheme could be liberalised to help reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of patients. More details will be disclosed during the upcoming Budget debate.

Separately, he welcomed the strong public support for one of the changes to be made to the Human Organ Transplant Act - that is, paying living donors.

He said: "I'm glad Singaporeans understood the reason for the amendments and strongly support it. I know there are some concerns about terminologies. For example, they worry about the term ‘compensation’ which would suggest organ trading, but is not. So we will try to avoid the use of the word compensation."

Mr Khaw said the Amendment Bill will be introduced in Parliament soon. - CNA/vm