Janil Puthucheary on patients referred by polyclinics to public hospitals

Public hospitals do not reject patients referred by polyclinics based on their residential address. They may occasionally reject patients if the referrals are inappropriate, such as to a specialty that the hospital does not provide. Patients are also prioritised based on their medical condition and need. In rare situations, if the hospital is not able to provide an appointment within the time demanded by the urgency of the case, the hospitals will then inform patients and the referring polyclinics to direct the referral to a more appropriate institution. Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said this in reply to an MP’s questions in Parliament on Monday (Jul 3).