Gan Kim Yong
Singapore
“Consumer complaints relating to the secondary resale market for tickets to major events and concerts have generally remained low. Nonetheless, to protect the public from scams on secondary ticket resale platforms, the Police have imposed Code of Practice requirements under the Online Criminal Harms Act to require designated online service…”
“Singapore does not condone the use of forced labour. We criminalise forced labour in Singapore under various laws. Relevant Government Ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Home Affairs and Singapore Police Force, play their part in investigating complaints of suspected breaches in domestic laws that relat…”
“The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) discontinued the PayNow nickname feature as scammers had been exploiting the use of nicknames to impersonate legitimate entities and trusted individuals.”
“As of end-2025, around 6,900 private residential buildings have registered their solar installations with SP Group for the export of excess solar-generated electricity to the grid. The installed solar capacity of these residential buildings is 115.3 megawatt-peak (MWp), or around 5.5% of all current installed solar capacity in Singapore.”
“The one-year pilot extension of liquor trading hours has seen strong interest from businesses. As of 31 May 2026, the Police have approved 88 applications for the extension of liquor trading hours from public entertainment outlets in these areas.”
“The Government does not make projections of domestic or regional demand for renewable diesel or sustainable aviation fuel. Demand depends on commercial considerations, evolving market conditions and regulatory developments across different jurisdictions.”
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Every one of 3,841 lines we hold for Gan Kim Yong, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 56 of 77.
“Mdm Chair, let me thank Dr Janil for the clarification. We are very mindful of our international obligations with regards to our obligation to WTO as well as our bilateral trade agreements. In crafting these tobacco control measures, we have also been very careful with regard to the legal implications. Even in our negotiations of bilateral agreements, we are mindful of our own internal interests to protect the health of our citizens. These are all taken into account. As we roll out these tobacco controls, we are quite confident that we are on strong grounds, to introduce these measures, particularly in the interest of population health.”
“Mdm Chair, I would let my Minister of State to reply on the question on psychiatric patients. With regard to the tiered reducing co-payment, I am trying to understand how the proposal works. To date, our subsidy is already tiered. Whether in the hospital or the LTC sector, the subsidies are means-tested, which means that if you are lower-income, you get a higher subsidy and, if you are higher-income, you get a lower subsidy. The patient then pays the balance. And, in that sense, the co-payment is already tiered according to your income level. If you are higher-income, the subsidy is lower, so you pay more co-payment. If you are lower-income, then your subsidy is higher, then you have a smaller component of co-payment. In that sense, the co-payment component is already effectively tiered so long as we make sure that the subsidy portion is tiered according to a means-tested basis.”
“I would like to thank Mr Giam for the clarifications. First, let me clarify that for means-testing, there may be other schemes that are offered by the various institutions, whether it is an endowment fund or even the VWOs. They may have their own charity schemes. These charity schemes may not be able to tap onto the network but these are from their own welfare funds. We can continue to work with them to see how we can facilitate the application for these special funds beyond the MediFund and beyond our long-term care (LTC) subsidies. For hospitals and the MediFund, we will look at it and see how we can further improve to facilitate applications. I believe that they are now able to tap into our CPF and IRAS records but patients do need to give their consent so that they can have access to this database. On NEHR, we are rolling out to a select group of GPs, working with them, pilot with them. We have identified about 50 of them to test out the system. Some of them have already come onboard and some of them are in the process of training and familiarisation. We hope to be able to roll out to more GPs in time to come. Cost is an issue because it does cost money to develop the system as well as to maintain the system. I am also very much aware that this cost can impose a financial burden on the GPs. We are working with the GPs to find a way that would ensure that it is affordable on an on-going basis. We developed this system and we really want to benefit the whole healthcare sector – not just the public sector but also the private healthcare providers. I am quite aware of the issues and we are working with the GPs to see how we can keep the system functional, beneficial and, at the same time, affordable. Page: 130”
“On the third issue on professional fees, yes, during the last COS, I did mention that we are looking at the possibility of publishing some of the professional fees charged, at least within the public hospitals, so as to increase the transparency, and also serve as a reference for patients who want to decide which hospital or doctors to go to. We are working on this, and our intention is to look at the possibility of publishing some of these professional fees, starting first with our public hospitals and maybe, eventually, extend to the private health institutions. With regard to the ethical limits, I think this is an issue that the industry and the professionals themselves will have to determine what they deem as ethical, and what they deem as appropriate. Generally, there is a sense that there are certain limits, but since there is currently a case in the legal process, so I would refrain from commenting further until the case is resolved. 4.45 pm Page: 127”
“Mdm Chairman, let me thank Dr Lam for the clarifications. First, a clarification on the first question about Government's share – what is the proportion? I mentioned in my speech that we expect the Government's share to grow from the current one-third to about 40%, or maybe even more than that eventually, of the overall healthcare expenditure. The Page: 126 remaining part of the expenditure will be borne partly through insurance schemes and partly through savings – MediSave and other schemes. We are still working on the details. As I mentioned, there will be a major review of the financial framework, and I will share more at the next COS when we have made some progress on the review. On the second issue on Sengkang Polyclinic, I understand many Members have asked for polyclinics. In the meantime, while we are building two new polyclinics at Pioneer and Punggol, we are also looking at expanding existing capacity in some of the polyclinics that have heavier patient loads. At the same time, we are also looking at the new model of Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs) working with the private sector, tapping on the existing capacity already existing in the private sector. So that instead of building more capacity, we balance the load between public and private sector. Through the FMC model, coupled with CHAS, we will then be able to encourage the private sector to become part of our team to look after our subsidised patients, especially those with chronic diseases. I will be very happy to work with Dr Lam, if he has an interest in looking at developing further FMCs in Sengkang. We will work with the private GPs in the area and see how we can develop more FMCs in the Sengkang area.”
“Over the years, we have established a healthcare financing system that has served us well. We have made changes to our financing policies and revised them regularly to respond to the needs of our patients and their families. Page: 95 Looking ahead, the landscape is shifting rapidly, demographics are changing and there is a need to strengthen our framework, to give Singaporeans better peace of mind. There will be key shifts in Government subsidies and the 3M framework. The review will take more than a year to complete, but I hope to be able to give the House an update and introduce some of the changes by the next COS. While everyone has to play his part to live a healthy life and to save ahead for his own future needs, the Government will increase its funding share, and put more money in prevention, primary care and aged care. Insurance will be further expanded, to enhance risk-pooling across the population. The MediFund safety net will be strengthened and made more accessible. Ultimately, the purpose of this review is to give Singaporeans better health and greater peace of mind.”
“We will also explore how we can help this group. Next, on cost of drugs. The cost of drugs is also a concern for many Singaporeans. We provide subsidies through the Standard Drugs List (SDL) and the Medication Assistance Fund (MAF) to ensure that drugs are kept affordable for our subsidised patients. From 1 April this year, we will add 17 new drugs onto the SDL and MAF. These drugs include second generation insulin products and insulin penfills, to help lower the cost to diabetic patients. I previously mentioned that Atorvastatin, which is a drug for high cholesterol, was being reviewed. This drug will now be placed on the MAF. A patient who requires this drug to treat chronic high cholesterol can enjoy potential savings of up to $375 a year, and pay just $125 instead of about $500 a year for this drug, depending on his dosage and subsidy level. These enhancements are estimated to cost the Government $5 million per year. Finally, let me address a topic that many Members have raised over the years, which was also raised by Ms Tin Pei Ling and Dr Lam Pin Min recently, or at this debate. Dr Chia Shi-Lu also asked about this just now. This refers to transaction charges for MediSave claims. This is a fee of about $3 for each MediSave claim that patients make. As I explained last year in a PQ reply to Mr Ong Teng Koon, this charge goes towards the costs of operating the MediSave scheme. However, I understand that this fee may pose a burden on patients, especially the lower income, or those who need to use their MediSave frequently to pay for chronic disease treatment. My Ministry has reviewed this and I am happy to let Members know that with effect from 1 April, MOH will absorb the transaction fees fully. Madam, let me sum up.”
“We have started the review of ElderShield but rather than to review ElderShield on its own, we really need a more fundamental review of the roles of Government subsidies, insurance and individual share of healthcare costs and how aged care fits into this big picture. We will review ElderShield as part of the overall review of our financing framework. While we carry out this review which will take some time, we will make a few immediate changes to strengthen our safety nets, to keep healthcare affordable. First, on MediFund. MediFund plays an important role as a safety net, to help provide peace of mind for both lower-income patients, as well as middle-income patients with larger bills. We introduced MediFund Silver in 2007 to take care of our needy seniors, and we recently announced the establishment of MediFund Junior to help needy children. MOF will be topping up the MediFund capital sum by $1 billion. This will increase the annual MediFund assistance by about 20% to $120 million, to help more needy patients with their healthcare bills. Page: 94 We will use some of the additional MediFund monies to close existing gaps in MediFund coverage. Mr Patrick Tay expressed concern about the high cost of dental treatment. From 1 April 2013, we will extend MediFund assistance to patients at the National Dental Centre. In addition, Singaporean mothers who face difficulty paying for their antenatal care and delivery can also be assisted by MediFund. By June 2013, we will also extend MediFund to the polyclinics, including dental services there. This will provide some relief for needy patients. We will continue to see how we can make our safety net more effective in giving Singaporeans greater assurance. Dr Chia Shi-Lu mentioned rare diseases.”
“We recently enhanced MediShield to include congenital and neonatal conditions and gave each Singaporean baby a hongbao of $3,000 in his own MediSave account. This is a significant step towards making MediShield coverage universal for the younger generation. We will next need to look into how to help the older Singaporeans stay insured under MediShield, a point which Dr Lily Neo raised. Page: 93 MediShield is designed to be a catastrophic insurance primarily for larger inpatient bills. As we review how we can strengthen insurance coverage, we will also examine whether it should remain so, or if we can expand it so that it can offset a higher proportion of costs, while keeping premiums affordable. We will also have to address Singaporeans' concerns about exceptionally large bills that go beyond the current cap on MediShield claims. Let me now turn to address the specific concerns of our elderly today. Budget 2013 will deliver an additional package of one-off MediSave top-ups for the elderly. But in addition to these ad hoc top-ups, we will need to review how best to support the healthcare needs of our elderly, especially the very old today. Many of these are our pioneers and they may not have accumulated enough MediSave by the time they retired. We need to take care of their healthcare needs. And this is a priority area that we will be looking into in the review. Dr Chia and Mr Heng Chee How raised the issue of ElderShield. As the care needs of our seniors expand and become more complex over time, there is a need to revisit the coverage of ElderShield.”
“How do we ensure that providers focus on necessary and cost-effective treatments, so that each MediSave dollar is well spent? These are issues that need to be addressed in the review. The Government will continue to provide additional help for the lower-income and the elderly to save more through MediSave top-ups under the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) and the GST Voucher for MediSave. In the Budget, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman announced higher WIS payouts for lower-income workers and doubled the GST Voucher MediSave payout this year for eligible elderly. In addition, $200 will be provided to all citizens 45 years old and above. We will study what else we can do to help Singaporeans build up their MediSave balances, so that we can allow more MediSave to be used. The third shift is on the role of insurance. As Dr Chia Shi-Lu mentioned, we need to calibrate the balance between personal savings through MediSave and the role of MediShield by risk pooling. For us to stretch the health dollar and to give Singaporeans a greater peace of mind, we need to enhance the role of insurance schemes such as MediShield and ElderShield. But we need to do this carefully to guard against over-servicing and over-consumption, both of which will lead to rising costs and higher premiums for us all. 2.45 pm We will study how we can shift the balance towards greater insurance coverage, without driving up demand and consumption, and allow insurance to carry a larger share of healthcare funding. Together with an enhanced Government share I mentioned earlier, this can help to reduce the need for individuals to pay more from MediSave or cash.”
“In our review, we will explore how we can provide more financial support in a targeted way for specialist outpatient care, primary care, preventive healthcare, dialysis and long-term care, to reduce the share that patients have to pay. The second major shift is on MediSave. We have been expanding MediSave use progressively since 2006, to include outpatient treatments for chronic diseases as well as selected vaccinations and screening. Now, Singaporeans can use up to $400 per MediSave account to pay for these each year. MediSave has been sized primarily to pay for subsidised care in the inpatient setting. As we grow old, we are more likely to require hospitalisation and each hospital stay is longer. If we allow unrestricted use of MediSave, many of our elderly may not have sufficient MediSave for their needs in the future. But I hear the concerns expressed by several Members and we do exercise flexibility on the ground for cases with exceptional circumstances. I believe if we calibrate carefully and put in place some safeguards, we can allow greater flexibility in the use of MediSave to reduce out-of-pocket costs, without jeopardising our future. We will review MediSave policies to see how to have greater flexibility in the use of MediSave. We raised the cap on use of MediSave for chronic diseases from $300 to $400 last year. Can we raise it further? Should we expand the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP) to include more diseases, as some Members have suggested? Should we allow MediSave Page: 92 to be used for outpatient treatments beyond the CDMP? How do we prioritise the different needs, to ensure that MediSave will not be depleted prematurely?”
“The starting point is for every Singaporean to take ownership of his health, to live healthily, seek treatment early and make informed choices in seeking treatment. I was heartened that in our dialogues, including the Our Singapore Conversation (OSC) sessions, participants understood this well. For this reason, it is important to preserve the principle of co-payment, but we will also have to ensure that co-payment is affordable. With this in mind, let me elaborate on how we intend to shift the balance of the way we pay for healthcare. The first major shift is to increase Government's share of national spending to provide Singaporeans with greater assurance that care will remain affordable and accessible. Government spending will not only rise in tandem with the Page: 91 increase in national healthcare spending. We will, in fact, take on a greater share of national spending, from the current one-third to about 40% and possibly even further, depending on various factors such as demographics and our ability to manage healthcare costs and target our subsidies. This will help to reduce the impact of rising healthcare costs on Singaporeans, especially the lower- and middle-income Singaporeans. However, how we spend the additional money is also crucial. Today, the bulk of our subsidies go towards hospitals, where the cost per episode is high. As our population ages, delivery of healthcare will increasingly extend beyond hospitals. Many Singaporeans, including Dr Chia Shi-Lu, have given feedback on the cost of outpatient care. We have enhanced CHAS to make primary care at GP clinics more affordable, and raised subsidies for drugs to help lower- and middle-income patients.”
“Page: 90 Madam, there is a strong desire among Singaporeans for greater peace of mind – the assurance that I will be able to afford healthcare when my family and I need it, whether now or when I grow old. We take these concerns to heart. We want Singaporeans to be confident that they can always afford the care they need. Part of this involves managing costs in our system. We work with our hospitals to identify and introduce clinically proven and cost-effective treatments, and provide sound advice to patients on the choice of treatment. This ensures good outcomes for patients, at the most reasonable cost possible. To enhance productivity, we are making strong efforts to upskill our workers, leverage on technology and automation, and redesign jobs and work processes. Right-siting of care is also crucial in keeping our healthcare costs low. While we manage costs and ensure that we are effective in the way we deliver care, we also need to enable patients to pay for their portion of the cost. The subsidies and 3M framework have served us well so far. But we need to further strengthen this, as the healthcare needs of our population evolve over time. The review of our healthcare financing system will be extensive, and will involve fundamental shifts. Therefore, it will take more than a year to complete. Let me take this opportunity to share some of our initial thinking. Even as we seek to give Singaporeans greater assurance today, we must not inadvertently create a problem for future generations of Singaporeans. If we get it wrong, we leave a heavy burden of debt for our children and grandchildren. This is why it is important to retain some key principles that have served us well.”
“I will discuss our thinking on these areas later. A third area of concern arises when we hear stories of Singaporeans who incur exceptionally large healthcare bills and wonder – "what if this happens to me?" While such large bills may be rare in the subsidised public institutions, it is natural for us to worry about them. We need to provide Singaporeans with more assurance on this. We will carefully explore how we can provide Singaporeans with greater assurance against very large out-of-pocket payments and we will take into consideration the various suggestions made by Members. Finally, many Singaporeans have told us that while there are many help schemes, they do not know how to get the help they need. As Ms Tan Su Shan mentioned in the Budget debate, we need better outreach and communication to the public, to reassure Singaporeans that help is available, and that everyone will have access to good healthcare. I should add that it is not just the elderly who are concerned about the cost of healthcare, but also the sandwiched generation, who are helping to pay for their elderly parents' healthcare and retirement needs, while raising young families. While we want to encourage family support, there are limits to this approach. Mrs Lina Chiam raised this point. We need to calibrate our policies to ensure that reliance on future generations is within reasonable limits. We also want to help the middle-income with the cost of healthcare, as Mr Vikram Nair suggested in the Budget debate. This is why many of our schemes, such as the CHAS for GP care, the Medication Assistance Fund (MAF) for drugs, and subsidies for long-term care have been extended to the middle-income. We will do more for this group.”
“Today, we spend about 4% of our GDP on healthcare, or about US$1,700 per person. This is similar to what Hong Kong spends. Over time, we can expect National Healthcare Expenditure to continue to rise as our population ages. So, what drives healthcare costs? First, cost of the same treatment goes up over time due to rising cost of manpower, supplies and so on. This is inflation. Next, as we age and our health deteriorates, we will spend more on healthcare. On average, annual expenditure on hospitalisation, after subsidy, for a 65-year old is three times that of a 45-year old. The third reason, and a key one, is that healthcare is getting significantly better and more accessible. We have adopted more advanced medical treatments and technologies that achieve better outcomes for patients, and these have become more common than before. However, they are also more costly. For example, 10 years ago, a heart attack patient would have been given an injection to dissolve the clot in the heart arteries. Nowadays, it is standard practice for a similar patient to be treated with ballooning or angioplasty, which improves patient survival rates and long-term outcomes, but at twice the cost Page: 89 or more. A second concern of Singaporeans is with how much out-of-pocket cash they have to pay. Dr Lily Neo and Dr Lam Pin Min have highlighted this. Expenses for outpatient care, including diagnostic tests, such as MRI, ongoing medication and long-term care, can become large cumulatively over time. Ms Tin Pei Ling, Ms Lee Li Lian and Mr Patrick Tay have asked for more flexibility in the use of MediSave in the outpatient care setting, or for long-term care. Some Singaporeans have asked for more subsidies, especially in these areas, to further reduce their out-of-pocket bills.”
“Mdm Chair, several Members – Dr Lam Pin Min, Mr Lim Biow Chuan, Ms Jessica Tan, Ms Janice Koh, Mrs Lina Chiam – have raised a concern shared by many Singaporeans and, that is, how to keep healthcare affordable. How do we help Singaporeans pay for their healthcare costs? Today, we have a financing framework comprising four pillars – subsidies, MediSave, MediShield and MediFund, or what we usually call subsidies and "3Ms". In 2002, we introduced ElderShield. Let me now explain briefly how all these work Page: 88 together to help our Singaporean patients. First, Government subsidies. All Singaporeans can enjoy significant subsidies at our public healthcare institutions – up to 80% for inpatient care and 50% for specialist outpatient care, as well as up to 75% in our polyclinics. Let me give an illustration. Take, for example, the median bill size for C Class wards at SGH which is about $4,300 before subsidy. After subsidy, this is brought down to about $1,100. Patients can then use MediSave to cover up to the full amount of the balance, while MediShield helps Singaporeans cope with the larger bills. With MediShield and MediSave, for eight out of 10 subsidised hospitalisation bills, patients only need to pay $100 or less in cash. Those who still have difficulties after MediShield and MediSave subsidies, can tap on our MediFund. While our framework has served us well, we need to plan forward as our needs change in years to come. I, therefore, initiated a major review of our financing framework last year. We have also held two sessions of "Our Singapore Conversation" and engaged many Singaporeans, including patients, to hear their views. Let me elaborate on four areas of feedback that we have received. First, Singaporeans are concerned about rising healthcare costs.”
“We want this plan to be created and owned by the people, and to enable Singaporeans to make decisions for themselves that favour healthier living. The Taskforce has done a lot of preliminary work and developed a 3P approach: Place, People, and Price, and it will consult extensively before finalising its recommendations. Assoc Prof Faishal will elaborate on this later. Mdm Chairman, I have outlined the progress on the Healthcare 2020 Masterplan. We are on track to enhancing access to healthcare services. We are also making good headway in building up our capabilities to provide these vital services. I have laid out our vision for a healthier Singapore – one in which individuals, organisations, and the community must work together to change the way we think about health. The conversation on healthy living must go beyond the boundaries of the healthcare sector. We need a whole-of-Singapore approach in order to keep Singaporeans healthy and give them greater peace of mind. 2.15 pm Outpatient Care Financing”
“Responses from the public were overwhelmingly supportive for restrictions on food advertising to children to be introduced. MOH and HPB, together with the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore, an Advisory Council to the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE), will jointly work out the details for implementation, to be announced later. Today, our smoking prevalence is relatively low, at 14.3%, compared to about 20% in New Zealand, 21% in the UK, and even higher in some developed countries. But it is on the rise, especially among our young adults. Smoking prevalence among young adults aged 18 to 29 years has risen at a faster pace than that of the general population – from 12.3% in 2004, to 16.3% in 2010. An effective way of discouraging individuals from smoking or picking up smoking is through a ban on point-of-sale display. This means that when you go to the retail shops, they will not have these products on display. Customers will have to ask for tobacco products specifically. Vendors can store these products in areas that are not visible to the public, such as in closed drawers. In the coming months, MOH will seek the views of the public on the point-of-sale Page: 80 display ban. Finally, let me share with the House our broader vision for healthy living. We aim to catalyse a whole-of-Singapore effort, in which healthy living becomes a shared vision. To lead this effort, we have formed a Healthy Living Master Plan Taskforce, chaired by Parliamentary Secretary Assoc Prof Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim. This Taskforce will develop a plan on how we can change our current landscape to encourage healthier living. But such change must come from within.”
“The pre-employment grant for Singaporean medical and dental students studying overseas has proven to be successful, with 189 grants given out since 2010. Foreign healthcare workers also help us meet our healthcare service needs, add diversity to the sector and help develop our capabilities in various clinical specialities. Public healthcare institutions have put in place various initiatives to Page: 79 help them adapt to our practices and working environment, so that they can be effective members of our teams in serving our patients. Mdm Chairman, I have outlined MOH's efforts to ensure that our healthcare system provides for the care needs of Singaporeans. But better healthcare is only part of our strategy. More importantly, we should all aim to achieve better health by living healthily. Ageing need not be a burden if we stay healthy. Instead, ageing can be fulfilling and meaningful. If we stay healthy as we age, we can continue to live good quality lives and contribute positively to society and family. Each of us is responsible for our own health. The first thing we need to tackle is our own behaviour. I agree with Dr Lam that we should start as early as possible, targeting at our youth and young adults, so that healthy habits are inculcated early in life. Let me outline two key ideas. MOH and HPB are looking into introducing a set of food advertising guidelines for children. There is growing evidence that advertising affects children's food choices and dietary habits. As such, we will strengthen the standards for advertising to children and for food and drink products which are high in fat, sugar or salt. We conducted a broad-based consultation process on this issue last year.”
“MOH will provide an additional $50 million to our institutions in FY2013, to enhance their capacity to deliver good quality clinical training, in view of the increasing number of students. We also aim to raise the attractiveness of careers in healthcare. Last year, we increased the salaries for all healthcare staff in both the public and VWO long-term care sectors. This includes specialists, which Mr Low Thia Khiang asked about. The salaries of our specialists take into account their contributions in all areas – patient care, education, research and leadership. Their skills are especially valuable in our public hospitals where patients are cared for by a team. We need experienced specialists to supervise and lead the team and ensure that we deliver good quality care. We allow our specialists to see private patients – but within certain guidelines – as this helps to retain them within the public sector. We will be introducing a new remuneration framework in 2014 and we intend to pool part of the professional fees, a point that was made by Mr Low. MOH has also started a campaign to increase the awareness of the diverse and fulfilling work that nurses and allied health professionals do, to attract more Singaporeans to join healthcare. With Mdm Chairman's permission, I would like to show a snippet of our nursing campaign, which by the way is a real story [A video clip was shown to hon Members]. This is just one of the campaigns that we will be running, to raise awareness of the work that nurses do and their contribution to our society. Beyond our local training pipelines, we will continue to supplement our healthcare workforce with overseas-trained professionals, especially overseas-trained Singaporeans.”
“MOH will convene an industry-led committee comprising professionals and home care providers to develop the home care sector, to chart new directions, new strategies, and set new standards to develop the home care sector so that home care can provide a viable alternative to nursing homes. To make care more affordable, the Deputy Prime Minister has announced that the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund will be expanded from $10 million to $50 million to subsidise more devices and consumables needed by frail seniors. We will also provide transport subsidies to a wider population of wheelchair ambulant seniors who need to travel to day centres to receive care. Dr Amy Khor will provide more details on this in her speech. Mdm Chairman, seniors who need care often have complex care needs spanning social, medical and sometimes financial needs. In order to provide more holistic and person-centred care to our seniors, we will merge the aged care functions of the Centre for Enabled Living with those of AIC, under one roof at AIC. Let me now move on to talk about how we are developing our healthcare workforce. In the past year, our healthcare professional workforce grew by 3,700, Page: 78 or about 8%. We are on track to growing our professional workforce to meet the healthcare needs of our population, as outlined in Healthcare 2020. Our priority continues to be to grow our local healthcare manpower supply. We will continue to invest in the training of our healthcare professionals. In addition to classroom training within educational institutions, healthcare professionals also undergo supervised training in the public healthcare institutions.”
“We have raised the subsidies for community hospitals, nursing homes, centre-based care, and home care last year. Let me also clarify a point raised by Mr Gerald Giam. We have simplified the means-testing process and criteria in the intermediate and long-term care (ILTC) sector to reduce hassle to patients and their families. They only need to give consent for us to access their CPF or IRAS data to carry out the means-testing, as Mr Giam suggested in his speech. Page: 77 In fact, we are already doing so. This has been implemented, in fact, since last year. One beneficiary of our subsidy enhancements was Mr Tan Cheng Lim, who needed rehabilitation for his spinal cord injury. Mr Tan also has other chronic conditions, including high blood pressure. With the changes to our subsidies, Mr Tan now receives an 80% subsidy, as compared to 50% previously, at St Andrew's Community Hospital's Day Rehabilitation Centre. Mr Tan is happy to have his total healthcare bill reduced. This year, we will pay greater attention on two areas. First, enhancing the quality of aged care. We have started workgroups comprising service providers as well as relevant agencies to look at care standards in nursing homes and centre-based care. The nursing home workgroup has proposed a new set of guidelines and standards, and we will be launching an industry consultation on this shortly. Dr Amy Khor will provide more details later. Second, we will enhance the access and affordability of services to help the elderly to be cared for in their own homes and in the community. We are making significant efforts to expand home nursing, home medical and en suite home personal care services.”
“The system has been rolled out to almost 5,000 clinical users in the public healthcare sector, including eight hospitals, six specialty centres, and all our polyclinics. Access to NEHR has also been provided to the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), some GPs and long-term care providers, with more nursing homes to follow. To help our healthcare providers understand how to use the system, our teams conduct on-site training, and provide comprehensive information packages to all clinical users. Providers can share information such as patient diagnosis, lab results, medications, and discharge summaries. We will next work towards enriching the system's functionalities, including case management and shared care plans. With information shared across providers, we will have a system that is better connected, better coordinated, and better able to provide good care to each and every patient. Let me update the House on our progress on initiatives under the Ministerial Committee on Ageing to take care of our seniors. We have moved decisively to enhance the access and affordability of aged care. Last year, we announced that the Government will invest $500 million to build 10 new nursing homes, 39 senior care centres, and 56 seniors' activity centres by 2016. Some of the new capacity is already on stream. This year, three existing nursing home providers will begin their operations at their new sites. Bright Hill Evergreen and Singapore Christian Home are slated to start within the first quarter of FY2013, followed by Villa Francis. By the end of 2013, we will add more than 500 new beds to our nursing home capacity. Three senior care centres providing day rehab and day care will also open this year.”
“However, for serious emergencies, patients will be triaged and referred to the emergency departments of our public hospitals. Polyclinics continue to play an important role in our primary care sector. Our polyclinics, together with a wide network of GPs and CHAS, provide the public with good access to primary healthcare services. 2.00 pm Mr Low Thia Khiang asked for an update on the Regional Health Systems (RHS). Developing the RHS is an ongoing effort. I can share with Members the example of the Eastern Health Alliance, which Mr Low mentioned. It is collaborating with HPB on the Eastern Community Health Outreach (ECHO) programme. This combines community-based screening with appropriate follow-up care, as well as lifestyle advice such as diet plans and workshops to help patients control their chronic conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Strong and lasting RHS partnerships will take time to build. One of the lessons that we have learned from this Eastern Health Alliance is that trust and understanding among providers from the various sectors – public, private, as well as the community sector – are critical to forge strong partnership and Page: 76 deliver coordinated, holistic care to our patients. While each region has its own unique needs, and will therefore develop quite differently, I am confident that we can share lessons from our experience in Eastern Health Alliance, and forge strong partnerships in these other regions as well. Mr Low also asked about the progress of the National Electronic Health Records (NEHR). This is a multi-year, long-term project, which aims to facilitate information flow to improve care delivery.”
“To provide more patients with convenient access to such support services, we will be setting up three more CHCs this year, in addition to Tampines. The next CHC will be opened in mid-2013 in the Bedok area while centres in Jurong East and Tiong Bahru will open by year end. We will pilot four family medicine clinics (FMCs) this year. This is a group practice managed by private GPs in collaboration with other healthcare professionals with the support of ancillary services. Here, patients will be looked after by a regular care team and receive comprehensive care. Our first four Page: 75 FMCs in Clementi, Lakeside, Ang Mo Kio and Bedok will come on-stream later this year. We will continue to work with GPs to explore different models that will best suit their needs and those of their patients. We will also need to build more polyclinic capacity to meet the growing needs of our population. We have refurbished Geylang polyclinic to increase its capacity and incorporate age-friendly features such as barrier-free access throughout its premises. Similar improvements are being made to Tampines polyclinic, and we will also be redeveloping Ang Mo Kio and Bedok polyclinics. In regions where there may be gaps in coverage, building a new polyclinic will be necessary. I am happy to let Mr Cedric Foo know that we will be constructing a new polyclinic in the Jurong West area near Pioneer. This new polyclinic, along with the new Punggol polyclinic, which Miss Penny Low asked about, will open by 2017. I anticipate that we will need another four new polyclinics by 2020 and another six to eight more polyclinics by 2030. All our polyclinics are equipped to handle basic emergencies, a point which Dr Teo Ho Pin raised.”
“We anticipate that we may need to build four more new acute hospitals between 2020 and 2030. We currently studying regional demographic profiles to identify potential locations for these new hospitals, and we will review our infrastructure plans nearer 2020. Madam, we are also improving our delivery of primary care to Singaporeans which Dr Lam Pin Min asked about. As more Singaporeans develop chronic diseases, a good GP in the neighbourhood, who is familiar with our family's medical history, will be well placed to advise us on how to manage our health. This is also a point raised by Mr Lien. We have taken steps to make primary care more accessible and affordable for patients. We introduced CHAS to help lower- to middle-income patients receive subsidised treatments at GP clinics as well as for dental care, which Mr Patrick Tay asked about. Last year, we enhanced CHAS significantly. More Singaporeans have benefited as a result. The number of CHAS cardholders has grown from 35,000 to about 250,000 since we made these changes – more than a seven-fold increase. We will monitor the scheme for a while more before reviewing it again, but I note Dr Lam's appeal to review the age criteria. Participating GPs can already refer CHAS patients to public sector's specialist outpatient clinics at subsidised rates, as Ms Tin Pei Ling and Mr Low Thia Khiang had asked about. They do not need to visit a polyclinic anymore as long as they are a CHAS patient. During the Budget debate, Dr Fatimah Lateef asked about progress on community health centres (CHCs) and the family medicine centres (FMCs). There is growing support from the GP community for the idea of CHCs which provide allied health and other support services to GPs and patients.”
“For instance, they deploy inpatient medical teams to the emergency department to ensure that prompt medical assessment and definitive care can be provided at the emergency department (ED) even before patients are warded. In the short term, we will increase our capacity by adding beds in existing facilities. NUH current renovation project will make available an additional 79 beds by December. Ang Mo Kio Thye Hua Kwan Community Hospital has just added 50 beds and St Luke's will add a similar number by year end. We will also be opening two new facilities this year. The new medical centre at the NUH will open by July 2013. This will allow NUH to expand its specialist outpatient clinics and day surgery operating theatres. The building will also house the National University Cancer Institute. The new National Heart Centre, on the other hand, will allow for expansion in our cardiac services. We are on track with our infrastructure plans for the medium term. The Ng Teng Fong General Hospital will begin to serve patients from end-2014. Let me show you how the hospital looks like [A video clip was shown to hon Members]. Madam, I wish I could build the hospital as fast as the video shows. This is our next upcoming acute hospital. Jurong and Yishun Community Hospitals will be ready by end-2015. Sengkang General and Community Hospitals are scheduled for completion by 2018. In the central region, Outram Community Hospital will be ready by 2020. Altogether, we will add 4,100 more acute and community hospital beds. This is 400 more than what we announced in Page: 74 Healthcare 2020. Dr Lily Neo talked about planning for our future healthcare needs. Beyond 2020, we are planning for new hospitals in new population centres and in areas where demand is likely to grow.”
“Our National Health Expenditure in 2011 amounted to 4% of GDP. It is lower than the OECD's average of 9.5% but we must bear in mind that several OECD countries have older populations than we do, and our expenditure on healthcare is likely to grow as our population ages. Ageing will be a key driver of demand for healthcare services. An older population means a higher incidence of admission to hospitals and, for each admission, a longer stay. Lifestyle changes are another driver. Many of us have sedentary lifestyles and do not exercise enough. More young people are taking up smoking and becoming obese. Non-communicable diseases, especially cancer, heart disease Page: 73 and stroke, account for 60% of deaths in Singapore each year. Therefore, I agree with Mr Laurence Lien that we need to do more and be more innovative to keep Singaporeans healthy. Last year, I announced my Ministry's Healthcare 2020 Master plan to build an inclusive healthcare system for the future – one that will provide Singaporeans with affordable, effective and good quality healthcare. Dr Lam Pin Min asked about the progress of Healthcare 2020. First, on capacity to meet the needs of our patients. Over the past five years, resident bed days rose by about 4% each year from roughly 1.5 million to 1.8 million bed days in total. A significant proportion of this increase was contributed by an ageing population. Over the years, foreign visitors have remained at about 2% of the public sector's total patient load – a question that Mr Low asked. Our hospitals adopt various strategies to actively manage the increasing patient load.”
“Mdm Chairperson, I would like to thank Members for their comments and their questions. As Mr Sitoh Yih Pin and Mr Cedric Foo have reminded us – 10 years ago, Singapore faced our first major health crisis as an independent nation when SARS broke out in March 2003. The outbreak dealt a significant blow to our economy and severely affected our community and our social life. Singaporeans rallied together during this trying time and emerged stronger from the experience. Madam, with your permission, I would like to share a video clip with the House on SARS [A video clip was shown to hon Members]. Madam, we will be holding a series of commemorative events later in the year. Mr Cedric Foo asked about the Courage Fund. We will also be reviewing the use of Courage Fund to make it more effective in helping our healthcare workers. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute and to recognise the contributions and sacrifices of everyone who was involved, in particular, my colleagues in the healthcare sector, some of whom fell ill and some who lost their lives as they cared for their patients. We will and we must remember them. Madam, over the years, our healthcare system has grown from strength to strength, achieving good outcomes and delivering good care for our people. The global Burden of Disease Study 2010 ranked Singaporean men and women as having the second and fourth highest healthy life expectancy at birth in the world. We were also very happy to find out last year that Bloomberg ranked Singapore as the world's healthiest country. Premature deaths from cancer, heart disease and stroke have also steadily fallen over the years. However, it is not time to celebrate yet as there remain key challenges ahead of us, which my colleagues and I will be talking about.”
“Registered medical practitioners are expected to treat their patients according to generally accepted methods of treatment which are evidence based. Currently, only the "needle form" of acupuncture has been accepted for use in Western Medicine by registered medical practitioners. This form of acupuncture is the most researched and published in the medical literature and has the evidence base for medical practice. There are other modalities and types of treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which are not allowed to be practised by registered medical practitioners and moxibustion is one of the modalities. Page: 173”
“Mdm Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on the item under discussion be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order No 48(8) to remove the time limit in respect of the Prime Minister's speech and the Deputy Prime Minister's reply.”
“Mdm Speaker, may I seek your consent and the general assent of Members present to move that the proceedings on item No 1 in the Order Paper for today be exempted from the provisions of Standing Order 48(3) to enable the Deputy Prime Minister who have spoken to speak more than once in the debate.”
“The success rate of live births from In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) using fresh embryos was 23% based on most recent data from 2010. In particular, the success rate of live births from IVF for women below 35 years of age was 34%, while for women 35 years of age and older, the success rate of live births was 14%. These rates have been fairly consistent over the last five years, from 2006 to 2010.”
“The Ministry of Health enhanced the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) in January 2012 to benefit more Singaporeans. Singaporeans aged above 40 can qualify for CHAS if their per capita household income is $1,500 or below. Economically inactive households are assessed based on their type of housing, in terms of the Annual Value (AV) criterion, as a proxy to ensure that Government subsidies are appropriately targeted. Since January 2012, we have also simplified the application process. For example, we removed the need for applicants to submit their income Page: 148 documents, if they consent to having their application processed back-end, with data from the Central Provident Fund Board and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore. We also switched to a single application process for all eligible members of the household instead of multiple individual applications from each household member. For residents in HDB rental flats, as well as those in 1- and 2-room flats, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) has been reaching out to them to encourage sign-ups for CHAS. This way we can also take the opportunity to explain to them the benefits of the scheme. Through AIC and the Health Promotion Board (HPB), MOH will continue to work closely with the grassroots and community partners, including the Family Service Centres and Senior Activities Centres, to encourage more eligible Singaporeans to join the scheme and to assist them in their applications if required. MOH will also continue to look at ways to better target our outreach and simplify the application process for CHAS, including the suggestions by the Member.”
“Currently, Medisave is designed primarily to help patients pay for hospitalisation expenses and selected outpatient treatments. It is accumulated over the course of one's working life, while the bulk of the healthcare expenses tend to occur when one is older. As post-retirement healthcare costs can vary significantly, we need to strike a careful balance between allowing greater use of Medisave to improve current affordability and the risk of premature depletion. Medisave withdrawal limits today are generally sufficient to cover the bulk of healthcare bills in Class B2/C wards in public hospitals, after taking into account Government subsidies and insurance. For instance, more than eight in 10 subsidised cases pay less than $100 out-of-pocket for their hospital bill. We have recently revised the annual withdrawal limit for selected outpatient treatment to $400. Setting withdrawal limits judiciously to maintain some cash copayment also helps to prevent over-consumption and moderate cost escalation. Those who still have difficulty paying for their healthcare bills are helped through Medifund and other financial assistance schemes. MOH regularly reviews the Medisave scheme, including the scope of usage and withdrawal limits, to ensure its continued relevance.”
“My Ministry plans to bring the Allied Health Professions Act into force in the second quarter of 2013. In the last 17 months, we have put in place key pieces of preparatory work to implement registration for the physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. These include finalising the subsidiary legislations required, ensuring that operating systems and processes are in place, and engaging the professionals and institutions to implement registration. The subsidiary legislations were reviewed with inputs from the professions. The process took more time than expected due to the complexities of regulating multiple professions. Concerns were also raised on the readiness in some institutions to support the supervision of their new therapists. The implementation was deferred to accommodate the plans for ramping up services and arrangements were made to help institutions whose staff will require supervision. The resources needed for registration of the professionals have now been put in place and we are in the process of formally appointing the Allied Health Professions Council. We plan to progressively include other allied health professions after the first three, including diagnostic radiographers and psychologists.”
“Over the past three years, our public hospitals have extended assistance to an average of 1,000 delivery cases per year in Class B1, Class B2 and Class C wards, of which around 95 cases per year involved mothers who experienced complications delivering their fourth or subsequent child. These cases that received additional subsidies accounted for around 8% of the total number of deliveries involving Singaporeans and Permanent Residents performed at our public hospitals. In addition, patients were also assisted through other arrangements, such as instalment plans, to help them manage the cost of their deliveries. Patients who require financial assistance can approach the medical social workers in our public hospitals. Page: 146”
“Medisave is designed primarily to help patients pay for hospitalisation expenses and expensive outpatient treatments such as chemotherapy and dialysis. Over the years, we have gradually expanded Page: 138 Medisave use to include outpatient treatments for chronic diseases at polyclinics, GPs or the Specialist Outpatient Clinics, as well as selected vaccinations such as Hepatitis B and pneumococcal vaccinations and screening such as colonoscopy and mammography, to make these more affordable. Patients can use up to $400 per Medisave account to pay for these every year. Besides Medisave, MOH also provides Government subsidies for outpatient visits at the polyclinics and Specialist Outpatient Clinics in the public hospitals, and at private GPs through the Community Health Assist Scheme. Screening is also kept affordable through the Integrated Screening Programme (ISP). For low-income Singaporeans, their out of pocket payment is minimal, as screening tests for high blood cholesterol and diabetes are fully subsidised. Medisave currently does not cover alternative or complementary medicine, including Traditional Chinese Medicine. Any further expansion of the use of Medisave has to be considered cautiously to ensure Singaporeans have enough savings for their healthcare needs, especially after they retire. MOH will continue to regularly review the Medisave scheme to ensure its effectiveness and relevance.”
“The medical screening of foreign workers is a requirement of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for pre-employment screening and renewal of work passes. Under this requirement, foreign workers are required to be certified by a medical professional to be fit for work. My Ministry received a complaint in late December 2012 that foreign workers who were seen at two clinics were being certified as fit without being physically examined by a doctor. My Ministry is currently investigating the two medical clinics to establish if there were any lapses in the processes of the clinics that could constitute a breach of the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics (PHMC) Act. Investigations are still on-going. Appropriate regulatory actions will be taken against the clinics if they are found to have breached the Private Hospital and Medical Clinics Act and relevant licensing conditions. The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) may also investigate and take actions against the doctors involved if there is evidence to suggest that they may have flouted the SMC's Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines. MOH is working with the Ministry of Manpower to review and identify ways to improve the process of medical screening of foreign workers. Page: 132”
“Yes, Madam. All the safety procedures are also applicable to the private hospitals. They are all governed by our rules and regulations. Page: 35”
“The review committee has recommended improvements to patient care and ward processes, staff education, protocol compliance and supervision, governance as well as IT enablers. KKH has already implemented most of these recommendations and is also evaluating possible IT solutions that could further strengthen the current manual processes. Details of the actions taken have been announced by KKH on 26 December last year. Let me just give a few examples. Two staff are now required to tag or re-tag babies to ensure they are correctly tagged. Patient identification procedures will be reinforced during staff orientation and training. Regular and ad hoc audits will be carried out to ensure compliance. KKH has taken disciplinary actions against the respective staff responsible for the lapses as well as the ward managers. The staff have also personally apologised to the parents affected. MOH has written to the CEO of KKH to register its deep disappointment and concern over the lack of oversight and supervision, especially with regard to patient safety in the nursery. KKH's Patient Safety Committee will step up its oversight of patient safety and ensure supervision and compliance of protocols by staff. KKH will also undertake a comprehensive review of its quality assurance framework to further enhance patient safety. Mdm Speaker, we will learn from this incident. It should be a reminder to all healthcare institutions in Singapore, both public and private, to strengthen their quality assurance programmes to improve patient safety and outcomes. MOH will continue to work with all healthcare institutions to ensure appropriate actions and measures are taken and sustained to achieve the highest level of patient safety possible.”
“KKH was unable to ascertain the precise moment of this mix-up as unlike activities such as administration of medication where the exact time was recorded, the time of several activities such as bathing, changing and soothing a crying baby were not recorded. A second error occurred when the barcode tag on Baby A's left ankle dropped off and was wrongly replaced with Baby B's tag. The staff replacing the missing tag failed to counter-check the identity of the baby against the remaining right ankle tag and most likely relied on the identity on the cot itself, which showed details of Mother B and Baby B. Subsequently, the baby thought to be Baby B was brought to Mother B and the baby thought to be Baby A was pushed to Mother A. The staff who brought the wrong babies to the mothers had failed to check both ankle tags against the cot card. Both discharge staff had also failed to open the baby's blanket to check both ankle tags when the mothers were discharged with their babies. When KKH was alerted of the error, it made immediate arrangements to reunite the babies with their rightful parents. Unfortunately, unwarranted distress had already occurred. Since then, a specially-commissioned review committee has completed its investigations on the incident. The review committee found that although protocols for the handling of babies were in place, there were lapses in compliance with established policies and procedures. There were indications of lax supervision and inadequate audits and checks imposed by hospital management. In other words, the unfortunate incident could have been avoided if those involved in caring for the affected babies had followed the proper Page: 34 procedures.”
“Mdm Speaker, the recent incident at the KK Hospital (KKH) is unfortunate and has caused much distress to the parents involved. In the last 10 years, there has not been any reported incident of the same nature. MOH takes a very serious view of this incident. As soon as the incident was reported to MOH, I directed MOH and KKH staff to find out how it happened and work with the hospital to prevent similar lapses in future. Let me share some background to the incident. As soon as a baby is born in KKH, an identification tag bearing the mother's details is affixed to the baby's right ankle in the delivery suite. The mother's details are also affixed onto a cot that will be used throughout the baby's hospital stay. Thereafter, when the baby Page: 33 has arrived in the ward nursery, a second barcode tag is affixed to the baby's left ankle. This barcode tag is unique to the baby and used to confirm the identity of the baby electronically before medications are served or investigative procedures are carried out. The KKH case involved two babies, Baby A and Baby B. Baby A was born on 16 November 2012, while Baby B was born on 17 November 2012. Both babies were correctly tagged and placed in the correct cots soon after birth. For most of the admission, the babies were roomed with their mothers, but in the early morning of 18 November 2012 between 3.15 am and 11.30 am, both babies were in the ward nursery and cared for by the nurses. We believe that it was during this period that the two babies were inadvertently placed in each other's cots. The mix-up most likely occurred when they were removed from their cots for care at about the same time and were returned to the cot without counter-checking their tags to ensure they were returned to the correct cot.”
“Mdm Speaker, I would like to thank the Member for the clarification that he has sought. First, let me explain that we need to strike a balance between self regulation and external oversight. That is why the MRA was amended recently, in 2010, to include external parties, including the senior legal professionals who will also be part of the disciplinary process that is going to be conducted within the SMC. We should allow the Act that had just been amended to be implemented fully. Many of the cases that we see today are, in fact, cases that have started before the amendment of the Act and, therefore, legally they have to come under the previous framework. The new cases will then be taken on under the new framework. The Committee that has been set up will also take the time, over the next six months, to review the processes and the implementation of the new Act, and see where else we can improve so as to enhance the trust and confidence of both the profession as well as members of the public. I would urge the Member to give us some time to allow the SMC to work at it, to go through the Review Committee's work. In time to come, we hope to be able to continue to strengthen the processes and build the confidence in this profession. Page: 10”
“Our professional boards and councils have promulgated ethical codes and guidelines that articulate high standards of professional conduct. The respective professional Acts have disciplinary frameworks as a deterrent against errant behaviour with measures in place to ensure a fair hearing. There are checks and balances in the professional Acts and avenues for appeal. We will continually refine and improve our processes, and ensure that public trust in our healthcare services and practitioners is maintained.”
“Mdm Speaker, the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) has appointed a Review Committee to review the existing legislative and administrative frameworks for disciplinary proceedings involving doctors and to optimise and strengthen the processes so that disciplinary matters are dealt with in a just and expeditious manner. This Committee comprises senior doctors and lawyers and the review is expected to be completed in about six months' time. About half the members of the SMC are elected. Voting in the SMC elections is compulsory for all fully registered doctors. About 15% to 20% of doctors cast null votes each year for various reasons. The disciplinary processes and requirements for doctors are set out in the MRA, and the disciplinary bodies set up, namely the Complaints Committees and the Disciplinary Tribunals, are obliged to comply with those statutory requirements. The disciplinary proceedings and the deliberations of the disciplinary bodies are conducted independently of the SMC, bearing in mind that the objective of the MRA is to protect the health and safety of the public, uphold standards of practice within the medical profession, and maintain public confidence in the medical profession. The Director of Medical Services, who is also the Registrar of the SMC under the MRA, has written to all doctors in January this year to explain and clarify SMC's disciplinary processes. As mentioned previously, the Review Committee will be looking into strengthening the processes for complaints and discipline. Page: 9 To build public trust in our healthcare services, our healthcare professionals must play their part to ensure that patients are given the best care possible.”
“Mdm Speaker, in 2012, our hospitals attended to about 8,600 seniors for audiometry tests or hearing loss evaluation, as compared to about 6,800 cases in 2010. Of the 8,600 seniors, about 1,500 or 17% of these seniors needed a hearing aid and went through a hearing aid evaluation test. About 800 seniors eventually took up the use of hearing aids. The cost of a hearing aid varies but averages around $1,000 to $1,500. Medisave coverage does not extend to the purchase of hearing aid because Medisave is primarily meant to support large hospitalisation bills. We need to be careful not to over expand the use of Medisave so that Singaporeans will still have enough in their Medisave to cover their hospitalisation expenses. To help the low income elderly, the Centre for Enabled Living (CEL) has a Special Page: 8 Assistance Fund that provides subsidy for such hearing aids. We are reviewing our policies to better support the elderly as our population ages.”
“From time to time, patients are medically evacuated into Singapore for treatment. Such decisions are made following discussions between the hospital and those transferring the patient. My Ministry was not involved in this transfer. The Indian High Commission subsequently informed our Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the transfer to facilitate the patient's entry into Singapore. All public and private hospitals in Singapore have protocols and standard operating procedures in place for receiving patients who are medically evacuated. The hospitals are not required to inform MOH when they accept patients transferred from foreign hospitals for management, except for those with infectious diseases where significant public health risks exist.”
“In line with changing needs of Singaporeans, the Ministry of Health has steadily increased the national healthcare budget to build new capacity, improve quality and enhance affordability. As stated in last year's Budget, we will be doubling our yearly healthcare budget from $4 billion in 2011 to about $8 billion in 2016. Last year, we significantly enhanced subsidies and eligibility in the primary care and intermediate and long-term care (ILTC) sectors. These measures target additional help to the middle- and lower-income groups. To help the elderly remain enrolled in MediShield, the Government will be providing a one-time Medisave top-up of up to $400 this year to offset the adjustments to their MediShield or Integrated Shield Plan premiums. In addition, from 2012, less well-off elderly Singaporeans will receive regular Medisave top-ups of up to $450 a year through GST Voucher for Medisave to help them with various healthcare expenses. In MOH's on-going major review of our healthcare financing system, we will continue to keep healthcare affordable through the provision of heavy subsidies and the 3Ms (Medisave, MediShield, Medifund) financing framework. Page: 161”
“The primary care needs of the residents of Potong Pasir are served through Toa Payoh Polyclinic, as well as 46 GP and 25 Dental clinics in the Potong Pasir and Toa Payoh areas. Toa Payoh Polyclinic, which is located less than 1.5 km from Potong Pasir, is the nearest polyclinic. It was renovated and expanded in 2010 to keep up with growing demand for care in the Potong Pasir and Toa Payoh areas. The polyclinic’s capacity was expanded with an increase in the number of consultation rooms, nursing rooms and allied health rooms. To cater to the elderly patients living in the vicinity of the polyclinic, a new payment queue system has been implemented to allow elderly patients to sit and wait for their queue number to be called, instead of standing in line. Measures to improve patients' experience have also been made through an extension to the drop-off area, redesigned registration and waiting areas, as well as expanded laboratory and pharmacy areas, to better accommodate patient flow. Aside from the polyclinic, Potong Pasir residents up to the median income and above the age of 40 years old can also take advantage of the enhanced Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) to enjoy subsidised health care services in 23 GP clinics and 16 dental clinics in the Potong Pasir and Toa Payoh Page: 160 areas that participate in the scheme. We currently do not plan to have another polyclinic in the Potong Pasir-Toa Payoh area. Nevertheless, my Ministry will continually review our plans to ensure that the healthcare needs of the residents are met.”