Private hospitals play important role in affordable healthcare system: Gan

SINGAPORE — The latest addition to the private hospital landscape - situated in a sprawling complex that also houses a hotel – could bring Singapore a step closer to an integrated and affordable national healthcare system in which the private sector plays a significant role, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said today (Mar 16) at the official opening of Farrer Park Hospital.

The 220-bed hospital combines with Farrer Park Medical Centre and the five-star One Farrer Hotel and Spa to form an integrated healthcare and hospitality complex called Connexion. The first such facility of its kind in Singapore and the region, it cost more than S$800 million to build.

The hospital had started taking in patients since December 2014. To date, it has treated more than 1,000 Singaporeans and permanent residents.

Mr Gan noted that the private sector accounts for nearly 20 per cent of acute bed capacity and an even larger share of specialist outpatient care. "My vision for the private sector is one where it is closely integrated into our national healthcare system, serving Singaporeans young and old very well and at affordable prices, and in partnership with other healthcare providers, both public and private. My hope for Farrer Park Hospital is that it will bring us closer to this vision," he said. 

With more than 300 medical specialists working in areas as diverse as oncology and ophthalmology, the state-of-the-art facility has a round-the-clock emergency service and about 600 staff. The hospital is also the first private hospital in Singapore to be a teaching site for undergraduate medical training. Multi-channel audio-video fibres connect the facility's 18 operating theatres to the hotel ballroom, which can accommodate up to 700 people, allowing surgeries to be beamed "live".