Janil Puthucheary
Singapore
“Sir, I thank Ms Lee for her two supplementary questions, which address what are our targets and what is it that we measure. Indeed, the issue of how we should think about recycling and waste disposal will be at the heart of our review of our Zero Waste Masterplan.”
“Another strategy that we are embarking on is the strengthening of the reuse of waste residue and treated toxic industrial waste before and after they are landfilled.”
“Sir, about half of our recycling material is exported. It is processed overseas. There are business arrangements between businesses here in Singapore and businesses in the region or overseas, to be able to handle the recycling of waste and recycling of material, whether domestic or non-domestic, already today.”
“Sir, I thank Ms Poh for her questions. Indeed, we do have to shift behaviours. The incentives and disincentives around recycling and waste disposal are an important part of it. We will consider her suggestion on looking at the fees.”
“The heat advisory that goes out is clearly defined. In my original answer, I explained what a heat wave was. There are clear definitions that we have been using in Singapore since 2016, if I recall. It was then last revised in 2023.”
“Sir, in the planning of schools, the Ministry of Education ensures that our students can access a primary school near their homes. Except for a small number, 15 of Special Assistance Plan schools, all primary schools offer the three official mother tongue languages.”
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“We understand that there is some brand equity built up already and rather than mandating that these licensees immediately remove these restricted terms, we will allow them to continue. Mr Yip also asked about the licensees with specialty names. They may continue to use those names that they already have. But if they provide or purport to provide services within that specialty, we may impose regulatory requirements on such licensees to employ or engage the relevant specialist. Otherwise, we will work with the licensee to amend the business name; otherwise, they will be giving the wrong impression to the public and that would not be in the patient's interests. I agree with Mr Yip about public education. It is important to complement our regulatory effort, especially around how the public engages with business names and advertising. We will be publishing the intent and scope of these naming restrictions so that the public can understand what is allowed, what is not allowed, and they can have an easily accessible reference. More public education effort is needed to enable patients to be discerning in their consumption of healthcare services. In line with overall efforts on media literacy, we encourage the public to help one another, and we ask for Members of the House, to also help within the communities in doing so. We will also continue to encourage the public to perform due diligence and exercise some degree of discretion before engaging the services of any healthcare provider.”
“From a service provision standpoint, telemedicine or remote medical service providers must ensure that the service provided is done so in a proper, effective and safe manner, similar to what you would expect in a medical service from a clinic. For example, they have to ensure the privacy and confidentiality with the medical consult, the integrity and security of patient health records, the timely escalation and referral. Providers will also need to make sure that their doctors using the remote modality are trained and competent to do so. Our prevailing professional codes such as the Singapore Medical Council's Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines will continue to apply. Doctors offering telemedicine will thus need to meet both professional practice and clinical service standards which will provide a more comprehensive protection for patients. That this applies to all healthcare professionals as Dr Tan Yia Swam has reiterated. It is important that all healthcare professionals are ourselves aware of the need to actively self-regulate and participate with that process of self-regulation, including by complying with and reading of the professional codes of conduct as the ultimate objective is to ensure that patients' safety and welfare are not compromised. There were some questions about healthcare service advertising. Mr Yip had asked whether existing licensees and businesses that contain the restricted terms "National" or "Singapore" will be allowed to retain their names. I mentioned that they can continue to use these terms unless there is a change in the business name or a change in the licensee.”
“Sir, I thank Members for their support of the Bill, as well as their various comments. If I may just address a few of the issues. Ms Ng Ling Ling and Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about the administration of the approval framework for modes of service delivery, especially where healthcare services are becoming more complex. I had pointed out that HCSA was designed to cover a wide scope of healthcare services, including those that have been mentioned by Mr Yip. MOH takes a risk-based approach. This means that we only license healthcare service providers and require them to comply with the relevant requirements if there are patient safety or welfare risks that we need to control through legislations. We want to guard against overdoing this and ensure that services remain affordable and accessible. One concrete example, we are reviewing whether to regulate community health-screening services that may involve invasive procedures, such as the drawing of blood, but which may not be provided by a medical practitioner or dentist. Bearing in mind the general aim of making such services, not only more accessible and convenient, but also safe for patients. So, we are closely monitoring the community screening landscape to identify newer models or other types of services where they may pose a higher patient safety and welfare risk, and then explore whether those need to be licensed. There were a number of questions on telemedicine-related requirements including by Mr Louis Ng and if I may address some of those issues. We had consulted with our various licensees and communicated these to them over the past few months.”
“As these doctors and dentists are not locally registered, these incremental restrictions are designed to ensure that they are treated similarly as other non-registered healthcare professionals, for parity. The amendments at clauses 25 and 28 pertain to the redesignation of the "Director of Medical Services" to the "Director-General of Health". This new designation is a more accurate reflection of the job scope and responsibilities of the Director of Medical Services, which goes beyond medical services to also the control of communicable and non-communicable diseases, the setting of healthcare professional standards and development and enhancing performance of the healthcare system. Mr Speaker, Sir, Members will see that through this Bill, MOH seeks to enhance and future-proof the regulation of healthcare services, to enable premises-neutral services across any healthcare setting, to put in place better governance, safeguards and clarity in the provision of healthcare services to patients, to empower patients to make more informed choices and to enable the Ministry to address any patient safety and welfare issues expeditiously. If passed, we intend to implement the Amendments in mid-2023, together with the second phase of the implementation of this Act, with two exceptions. First, the redesignation of the Director of Medical Services will be implemented within two months. Second, the restriction on individuals employed or engaged will be implemented at end of 2023 when the screening process for the prospective employees would be operationalised. With that, Mr Speaker, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question proposed. (proc text)]”
“To protect consumers from being misled into thinking that such persons are registered medical or dental practitioners when they are not, the new section 31B inserted by Clause 22 will require any person who is not a registered healthcare professional to state their specific qualifications and a disclaimer that their qualification is not a medical or dental qualification should they wish to use the title of "Doctor", or any derivative in any language, in healthcare service advertising. These restrictions will not apply to registered healthcare professionals such as nurses and pharmacists, as they are regulated under their respective Professional Acts. Non-registered healthcare practitioners who are PhD holders and wish to use the title "Doctor" in advertisements of healthcare services must also state their qualification and a disclaimer that the qualification is not a medical or dental qualification, in such advertisements. However, for settings beyond healthcare service advertising, for example, the use of "Doctor" by PhD holders in academic articles, this requirement will not apply. We understand that there are instances of foreign-trained doctors or dentists who have proper medical or dental qualifications, but do not have these qualifications registered with the Singapore Medical Council (SMC) or Singapore Dental Council (SDC). There are also instances of doctors and dentists who have previously registered themselves locally but have allowed the registration to lapse as they are now retired. In both these cases, should these practitioners wish to use the title "Doctor" in healthcare service advertising, the amended Act will require them to additionally include a disclaimer that they do not hold a valid practicing certificate issued by the SMC or SDC.”
“To streamline the regulatory framework for healthcare service advertising, some advertising requirements for non-licensable healthcare services will now be regulated under the HCSA regime, and the relevant provisions in the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Act 1955 (MASA) will be repealed. These requirements include the prohibition on non-HCSA licensees who claim in healthcare service advertising to "treat" any medical conditions or diseases under the new section 31A inserted by Clause 22. For example, non-HCSA licensees cannot claim that "We treat chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and all cardiac conditions" or that "We are experienced in treating scoliosis". At present, there is a disparity in enforcement actions between the two Acts, with MASA having significantly lower penalties and a more limited scope of regulatory action, for example, there is no power to take down non-compliant advertisements. The new section 31C inserted by Clause 22 will impose similar penalties for comparable non-compliance in healthcare service advertising regardless of whether one is an errant provider of a non-licensable healthcare service, or a HCSA licensee. This will deter non-HCSA licensees and ensure all healthcare service providers are held to the same high standards when advertising their healthcare services. Lastly, many stakeholders have also raised concerns about cases of misuse of the title "Doctor" in healthcare service advertising by certain non-registered healthcare professionals.”
“Clause 19 will amend section 29 to prohibit licensees from using a specialty name in their names or logos – in any language – if there is no practitioner actively practising the said specialty under the auspices of that licensable healthcare service. To clarify, the specialist must be locally registered to practise the specialty in question, and can either be employed or engaged by the licensee to provide the approved licensable healthcare service under the auspices of the licensee. Specialties recognised under the Medical Registration Act or the Dental Registration Act and their associated terms are the specialty names intended to be covered by the amended section 29. For example, a clinic cannot be called "The Neurology Clinic" or the "The Brain Clinic" if there is no neurologist practising in that clinic. This protects patients from being misled into thinking they are receiving specialty care where the provider is not a specialist. Licensees are currently prohibited under HCSA from using the terms "Singapore" or "National" in their names or logos except with the approval of the Director of Medical Services. To further prevent public misperceptions, the prohibition against using these terms under section 29 will be amended to extend to the same terms in any language, not just English. To clarify, existing licensees will be allowed to retain their current business names if it contains the terms "Singapore" or "National", unless there are changes in the business name or licensee in future.”
“Under the current HCSA, certain licensees may be prohibited from employing any individual who has committed egregious crimes involving violent acts such as rape or kidnapping, except with the approval from MOH, regardless of the duties performed by the individual. This is done to protect the safety and well-being of more vulnerable patients, as they may not be able to fend for themselves if they are harmed or abused. This is similar to the approach taken under the Early Childhood Development Centres Act 2017. However, the risk of patient harm varies depending on the role undertaken or performed by these personnel and the nature of the healthcare settings they work in. Hence, clause 18 will repeal and re-enact section 28 to provide some flexibility. The restrictions will apply to prospective employees and those engaged, but not employed, by licensees to undertake work in healthcare settings. For a start, licensees operating in the Institute of Mental Health and all nursing homes and hospices will be required to comply with these restrictions. This is because there have been a number of cases of physical violence or abuse reported at these types of healthcare institutions. MOH will continue to monitor for any emerging trends that indicate an increased risk of patient harm in other settings and will consider extending these restrictions to other individuals or settings in the future if needed. The proposed amendments also seek to enable the public to make better informed choices about their use of healthcare services. In particular, the necessity of ensuring that consumers or patients are not misinformed or unduly influenced to inappropriately consume certain healthcare services. We are addressing this with tighter controls on advertising and naming.”
“First, for Specified Services which involve more complex or higher risk procedures provided in a licensable healthcare service, and therefore have distinct requirements. Examples of Specified Services are liposuction, endoscopy, or radiation oncology services. In addition to the existing licensing regime for licensable healthcare services, the new section 9A will require licensees to seek approval for the provision of any Specified Service. Having an approval process enables MOH to better verify that all requisite standards are met before a licensee can provide such a service, so that patient safety and welfare are upheld before these services are delivered. This approval regime builds on the approval process that is currently available for special care services in medical clinics and specialised procedures and services in private hospitals under the PHMCA framework. Second, for the appointment of a Clinical Governance Officer or CGO. Clause 17 will amend section 24 to replace the existing notification regime for the appointment of a CGO with an approval framework. Under HCSA, a CGO is expected to play a crucial role in overseeing the clinical governance and technical aspects of healthcare services. By requiring licensees to seek approval for the appointment of a CGO, MOH can also ensure upfront that a competent and suitable individual is appointed and better safeguard patient safety and welfare. Besides enhancing upfront safeguards, clause 18 also re-enacts section 28 to introduce flexibility for MOH to vary the scope of restrictions for selected individuals or groups of individuals employed or engaged in different healthcare settings, based on the anticipated risk of patient harm.”
“This provides licensees with better clarity on the requirements they must meet and allows them to determine the appropriate business model for the delivery of their healthcare services. This also increases public transparency on the nature of healthcare services being provided by each licensee, how they can access these services and how the Ministry intends to regulate the delivery of the various types of healthcare services. The amendments at clauses 6 to 9, and 12 to 15, in particular the new sections 9, 11A and 11B and the amended section 20, set out the details of the approval regime for this, including the regulatory actions that can be taken against licensees who contravene the relevant regulatory requirements or approval conditions. At present, MOH issues licence conditions to impose new safety standards, such as in instances where there is a change in the regulatory technical standards due to evolving scientific developments. MOH is now required to provide licensees with a minimum period of 14 days to send in written representation in response to the intent to amend the licence conditions, if any. To prepare for future emergencies, clause 11 will amend section 14 to remove the 14-day notice period for any modification of licence condition that applies to a class of licensees, where there is immediate or imminent harm to patient safety or public health. This is so that MOH can expeditiously implement new healthcare protocols to protect public health and patient safety under exceptional circumstances. To further safeguard patient safety and welfare upfront, two other approval regimes will be introduced.”
“Temporary premises would include ad-hoc health screenings in a community centre's multipurpose hall or when a doctor conducts a house call visit to a patient's home. Conveyances refer to the healthcare service being delivered using vehicles, like ambulances or dental screening buses. Remote provision involves the delivery of healthcare services through virtual platforms such as virtual teleconsultation. A clear regulatory framework for these various service delivery modes will give providers the confidence to continue to provide and expand home care services, which are critical to enable ageing in the community, in particular for seniors who are homebound, or those at the end-of-life. Bringing medical services closer to the community and into homes will also enhance the convenience to patients and their caregivers and reduce caregiver burden. For example, home medical providers caring for patients at the end-of-life will now be able to help maximise patients' quality of life and fulfil their aspirations to spend their last days at home. The Mobile Inpatient Care at Home (MIC@Home) is another care model where suitable patients can choose to be managed at home and receive similar clinical care as in the hospital, and this includes regular review by the care team either by home visits, teleconsultation or remote monitoring of vital signs, and even intravenous medication if required. Under this approval regime, the Ministry of Health (MOH) can prescribe regulatory requirements and impose approval conditions on licensees. MOH can also prescribe the service delivery modes that are not permitted for a licensable healthcare service.”
“COVID-19 also highlighted the need for HCSA to be adjusted to allow us to respond to public healthcare emergencies more nimbly. This includes instances where licence conditions must be changed immediately to address urgent patient safety or public health issues. Second, we received feedback on several areas of the regulatory framework, which could be improved. This includes misleading advertisements including non-licensable healthcare services or business names. This was a result of engagements with stakeholders to continuously review and update HCSA while preparing for its rollout across existing and new licensees. And third, there was a need to align the scope of regulatory action for healthcare advertising by licensees and non-licensees. All these have led us to further review HCSA to enhance and future-proof the legislation. The proposed amendments will allow us to be nimbler in responding to the evolving healthcare landscape and enable premises-neutral care to be delivered across our healthcare settings. It will also strengthen governance to safeguard patient safety and welfare, and protect patients from misinformation, exploitation or abuse. Sir, I will go through the key features of the Bill and highlight changes to existing legislation. Clause 4 will amend section 9 to introduce the regulation of four primary modes of service delivery: permanent premises, temporary premises, conveyances and remote provision. Licensees must obtain approval to provide a licensable healthcare service by any of these four modes. To give some examples, permanent premises are physical, in-person, General practitioner clinics or hospitals.”
“Mr Speaker, Sir, on behalf of the Minister for Health, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time". Sir, the Healthcare Services Act 2020 (HCSA) was passed in Parliament in January 2020. It will replace the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act 1980 (PHMCA), which was enacted in 1980 and regulates the use of premises in which healthcare services are provided. Since 1980, the healthcare landscape in Singapore had undergone many significant changes and it was timely in 2020 to update the regulatory framework to become services-based and premises-neutral, to ensure that our regulatory approach remains relevant and flexible. The Act is being implemented progressively with licensees coming onboard HCSA in three phases. We started with laboratory, radiological, ambulance and medical transport services in Phase 1 in January 2022 and will be progressing to hospital, medical and dental services in Phase 2 in mid-2023. Lastly, we will onboard the nursing home services in Phase 3, planned for the end of 2023. This phased approach is intended to give licensees sufficient time to prepare for, and adjust to, the new Act, and thus minimise disruption to existing healthcare services. Since the implementation of HCSA in Phase 1, there have been developments which require further refinement of this legislation. First, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to changes in how healthcare is delivered. For instance, new models of care such as teleconsulting and home medical services have proven to be effective and efficient. While HCSA is already a services-based framework, it needs to provide more clarity and flexibility on the requirements related to these new models of care, to continue protecting patient safety and enabling new innovations in providing care.”
“(proc text)] [(proc text) Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House. (proc text)] [(proc text) The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. – [Dr Janil Puthucheary]. (proc text)] [(proc text) Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed. (proc text)]”
“The Ministry of Health (MOH) continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation and the evolution of the virus through our international networks and local surveillance to pick up early signals of new variants that could be more transmissible or cause more severe disease. Should such a variant emerge, we must continue to have the necessary tools to take appropriate prevention and control measures. We should, therefore, continue to provide in our statutes the ability to implement measures used during the pandemic. We have been relying on the CTMA during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was enacted as temporary legislation to tackle the threat of COVID-19. Part 7 of the CTMA was put in place to complement the Infectious Diseases Act (IDA), the main legislation used to control and prevent infectious diseases in Singapore. Now that we are heading into endemic COVID-19 new normal and are at DORSCON Green, we should work towards stepping down Part 7 of the CTMA and rely on the IDA to manage new variants of concern or new pandemics. To do so, the MOH commenced a review to enhance the IDA, including incorporating provisions under Part 7 of the CTMA into the IDA so that the IDA is more robust and affords us the agility to be able to cater to different situation. We intend to table the amendments to IDA in this House in the second half of this year. Once the amendments to the IDA are passed, Part 7 of the CTMA will be revoked. In the meantime, this last extension of Part 7 of the CTMA allows us to continue to maintain a posture of preparedness should there be a need to deal with a dangerous COVID-19 variant, swiftly activate control measures to safeguard public health and protect our healthcare system. Mr Speaker, I beg to move. [(proc text) Question put, and agreed to.”
“Mr Speaker, on behalf of the Minister for Health, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time". Sir, this Bill proposes a single amendment to extend the validity of Part 7 of the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 (CTMA) for one year. There will be no other changes to Part 7 of the CTMA. The extension will continue to allow targeted public health measures to be implemented for the purposes of preventing and controlling the spread of COVID-19 so that we can react swiftly to new and dangerous COVID-19 variants should they emerge. Singapore has made significant progress against COVID-19 and we have emerged as a more resilient nation. We now have a high level of hybrid immunity in our population through vaccination and recovery from past infection. Our COVID-19 situation has been stable over the past months. Last month, we stepped down to DORSCON Green and lifted the last of the legal requirements for COVID-19 community measures, namely mask-wearing on public transport and indoor healthcare and residential care settings. We now treat COVID-19 like other endemic infectious diseases, such as influenza and emphasise the need for all of us to keep up to date with vaccinations, to practice good hygiene habits and exercise social responsibility to prevent the spread of infection. We must not take the current situation as a given or be complacent. There is still uncertainty as to how COVID-19 will develop globally. The virus continues to circulate and will continue to mutate. We cannot rule out the possible emergence of new variants that can cause infection waves and strain our healthcare resources.”
“Sir, I thank the Member for his question. The skill sets for the acute hospitals and the long-term care sector, while there is significant overlap, are not exactly the same. And we should not see the pool of manpower as completely fungible between the two. We do also have needs within the acute care sector as well. So, the real answer is to increase the overall recruitment and bring people into both sectors.”
“Sir, I thank Mr Giam for the questions. We do regularly review the compensation for all the healthcare workers in all the sectors, as well as whether there is a significant variance across the norms. This is a matter under review. I do not have any specific announcements about plans to review at this point in time, but it is an ongoing work. We will update the House at appropriate junctures. I do not have the data for compliance rates amongst the different providers in the long-term care sector. If the Member would like to file a specific question on that, for oral or written answer, I would be happy to provide the data.”
“Sir, all nursing homes inspected within the last six months met the required staffing ratios. Nevertheless, many healthcare institutions, including nursing homes, face a tight manpower situation, as healthcare workers are in great demand throughout the world. The Ministry of Health (MOH) works with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to attract jobseekers into the community care sector, including nursing homes. They also work closely with nursing homes to develop healthcare workers professionally. This includes the Community Care Traineeship Programme for their newly-hired local healthcare and therapy assistants; and providing subsidies through AIC-appointed Learning Institutes for a range of developmental and skills training programmes. In addition, we are stepping up efforts to recruit foreign nurses to work in Singapore.”
“Sir, Dr Wan Rizal raises a very good point and it is precisely because the service provision in this space involves professionals from different sectors that have different processes of licensing and accreditation, and answer to the different professional bodies that we do need to have a common language about how referrals are made, how care is coordinated and how they are trained on a common framework to serve the same clients and patients. So, the process is to bring the professional bodies together through the representatives that are participating in this approach to develop the national mental health competency framework and, through that, have the same language, and then the same high standards applied across all the different professional bodies, rather than try, at this point in time, to create a single regulatory framework for these sets of conditions.”
“Sir, I thank Dr Shahira for her questions. We will look at the career progression issue, but we also do need to make sure that where there is this process of specialist accreditation and career progression, we do give a structure that provides assurance to the practitioner as they progress along their career, to the institution that employs him or her, and to the patients. I think we do want to wait for that process to work through as we review the needs and the process of doing specialist accreditation within dentistry. On the issue of subsidised treatments, the bottom line is that there are very few patients that require that type of treatment outside of the NSCs. The NSCs continue to have quite a lot of capacity. We would like for these treatments to be provided where there is a significant patient load and significant service provider experience as well. Currently, they are concentrated at the national centres.”
“On Dr Tan's second question of how to recognise the misleading claims, I think this is an area where there is quite a lot of education that is needed. It is going to have to require ongoing efforts around public education because medical treatment does change. I think the key issue is that if the provider is licensed, they are required only to assert claims that are provable and demonstrable. So, I think the first thing is to establish whether this is a licensed medical provider.”
“Sir, I thank Dr Tan for her questions. Certainly, if the claim is to treat an identifiable medical disease like cancer, that would be a misleading claim. If they are unlicensed providers, we can take them to task. I encourage the Member or members of the public to notify us directly if they come across such an instance and make a complaint. Ultimately, perhaps one of the best ways to protect themselves is to have a regular relationship with a trusted care provider. I beg your pardon, was there a third question?”
“And I hope we will develop a more inclusive and supportive culture as a nation, with improved awareness and knowledge on mental health and well-being. Sir, I have outlined MOH's plans on health information, mental health capacity, and we will focus our efforts to provide our healthcare workers with the necessary information, technology and infrastructure so that they continue to do what they do best – deliver quality care to our patients and keep our nation healthy. As we emerge from the pandemic, I would like to express my deepest gratitude once again to the healthcare workers who have held the fort and led us through the pandemic. With that, Sir, I wish you and all Singaporeans good health.”
“That is why HPB launched the "It's OKAY to Reach Out" campaign, to emphasise that help-seeking is appropriate and to encourage individuals to seek help for their mental health needs. Normalising conversations on mental health will take time and may require different approaches for different citizen segments. At the broad level, we continue to encourage such conversations through the SG Mental Well-being Network. To better support parents, HPB rolled out a public education campaign for parents to better understand their children's emotional health and identify behaviours of concern, so that parents can be better equipped to support their children and know where to seek help from as early as possible. The Interagency Task Force fulfils the critical role of bringing together diverse partners and stakeholders to shape mental health policies and strategies, spearhead initiatives, proliferate resources and create a conducive environment for ground-up initiatives to thrive. The task force will continue to carry out its mandate and work towards the development of a national strategy for mental health and well-being aimed to be released by the end of this year. We will also continue to explore other options to coordinate national efforts on mental health and well-being, such as considering the value of establishing a central coordination office. With these efforts, we can expect a cohesive system of diverse mental health service providers coordinating care within a common frame of reference and a tiered model of care delivery. A more well-defined competency training framework will enhance the quality of care provided to all Singaporeans.”
“Ultimately, the goal of the model is to ensure individuals receive the care most appropriate for their needs in a timely manner. In doing so, it also avoids an overreliance on centralised specialist care and optimises the use of resources. For the tiered care model to be implemented effectively, there is a need to ensure adequate competencies and standards amongst all mental health practitioners. Task force representatives from the social, health and education sectors have come together to develop a national mental health competency training framework. The framework will establish a structured approach to guide mental health practitioners in developing the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary to deliver high-quality and effective care. The framework will spell out the training needs of the practitioners and, through this, mental health training courses can be aligned towards a common set of training standards as described by the framework. The framework will apply to practitioners involved in supporting individuals with mental health needs, ranging from lay responders, such as peer supporters, to mental health professionals, including nurses, social workers and counsellors, amongst others. Practitioners can benefit by receiving more consistent and evidence-based instruction and training. This uplifts mental health care capabilities for all providers, which will result in higher quality care and improved outcomes for clients. Finally, to complement these efforts, there needs to be a proper understanding and perception of mental health issues, as well as a willingness to seek help when needed.”
“Let me give some examples of progress on this. Last year, KKH embarked on Temasek Foundation Youth Connect pilot programme to support adolescents facing difficulties with life challenges or mental health issues. The multidisciplinary KKH team came together with counsellors and social workers from schools and social service agencies to develop a set of intervention resources. KKH is also working closely with schools and community providers to facilitate referrals of adolescent patients between social services and healthcare settings. Such collaborations ensure that adolescents' needs are holistically met through the respective touchpoints. Another example from social and education stakeholders – recognising the need for deeper collaboration to meet the mental health and well-being needs of students, AMKFSC Community Services has been working closely with counsellors from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) to ensure timely and coordinated mental health support for students facing academic stress as well as family and peer relationship issues. In the last example, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) has partnered the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) and are in the midst of developing a set of guidelines for youth suicide prevention programmes as a resource for service providers. Other benefits of the tiered care model include ensuring better access to care and encouraging early help-seeking and intervention. The mapping of services and professionals across the tiers in the care model serves as a signpost to the public on the mental health resources and touchpoints available in the community, primary and tertiary care settings. This supports individuals in identifying the services that best meets their needs and gives them the know-how to access care as early as possible.”
“To gather views and feedback on the preliminary recommendations, the task force conducted public consultations between May and August 2022. Over 950 responses were received, with feedback from groups, such as youths, parents, persons with mental health conditions, service providers, employers and community agencies. In general, respondents agreed with and were supportive of the preliminary recommendations, and most of the feedback were suggestions to refine the implementation details. If I may, let me now elaborate on some of the plans under the task force. We have recommended to implement a tiered care model for mental healthcare delivery. This is a framework that matches the level of care to the severity of the mental health needs. The model is based on the idea that different individuals have different levels of mental health needs at different times and interventions can be tailored to meet each person's specific needs. The tiers differ in their levels of care intensity. For instance, the first tier typically involves self-help resources, peer support networks and hotlines offering basic emotional support for individuals. Individuals with more severe mental health symptoms would access higher level of care, such as ones involving psychotherapy or more intensive medical treatment. What are the benefits of this model and how is it different from the existing model of service delivery? The tiered care model will map both health and social services involved in mental healthcare delivery into the same framework, using the same language and mental models. This will facilitate clearer referrals, coordination and care planning for individuals whose needs are managed by different service providers who may be operating from the social, educational and clinical care sectors.”
“The VIFAP panel will assess the application and consider the new evidence. There have been 24 applications that were successfully reassessed. We have informed healthcare professionals to be facilitative and support their patient's applications in a timely manner. That said, I would like to assure the House that patients have three years to apply for VIFAP. With time, if new evidence emerges showing potential links between vaccination and a severe adverse event, the VIFAP panel may reassess related applications. Mr Chairman, Sir, if I may now shift the focus to mental health. We recognise the multifaceted nature of mental health issues and the need for better coordination between the health and social sectors. For this reason, the Interagency Task Force on Mental Health and Well-being was established in July 2021 to oversee and coordinate mental health efforts across different sectors, focusing on cross-cutting issues that require interagency collaborations. The task force is co-led by MOH and MSF and comprises public sector agencies, such as the MCCY, MOE and MOM, as well as private and people sector agencies. Dr Wan Rizal and Mr Xie Yao Quan have asked for an update on the work done and plans under the task force. In the past year, members of the task force played an important role in reviewing the population's mental health needs, identifying gaps and challenges and developing plans for improvements. The task force has preliminarily identified 12 recommendations focused on three areas: (a) improving the accessibility, coordination and quality of mental health services; (b) strengthening services and support for youth mental well-being; and (c) improving workplace well-being measures and employment support.”
“We are reviewing and monitoring dental specialities that are not formally recognised by the Dental Specialist Accreditation Board in Singapore, including the need for clinical practice guidelines for geriatric and special needs dentistry. Beyond these measures, healthcare institutions are provided funding to enable better accessibility and care transition for elderly and special needs patients, and we encourage dentists to tap on the institutional scholarships or the Health Manpower Development Plan to pursue further clinical training in these areas. 4.15 pm Mr Pritam Singh wishes to understand more about the VIFAP for COVID-19 vaccination. As of 31 January 2023, MOH has received 2,405 applications, with 414 payouts made. VIFAP applications are reviewed and assessed by an independent VIFAP clinical panel, which includes senior specialists in the relevant fields of neurology, immunology and allergy, and infectious diseases. To determine eligibility for VIFAP, the panel reviews the medical details of the application objectively alongside available scientific evidence, to assess if it was likely caused by the COVID-19 vaccine received and its severity. It is not necessary to prove absolute causality for a payout to be awarded. This is in line with the standards applied internationally and by the World Health Organization. Payouts for events assessed to be related to the vaccine are based on the panel's assessment of severity, including if activities of daily living are affected. Persons will also continue to receive support through applicable healthcare financing schemes, such as CareShield Life, MediShield Life and subsidies at our public healthcare institutions. Unsuccessful applicants can file an application for reassessment if new evidence becomes available.”
“It was designed to be voluntary, where parties using the CCRP must mutually agree to participate and abide by the CCRP's decision via a contract. MOH will continue to work with the relevant organisations to strengthen the CCRP process and its participation by all stakeholders. To Dr Tan's suggestion of a future collaboration with SMA in enhancing the education of payers, we agree that stronger collaboration between payers and the care team will contribute to a better patient experience, and this can be discussed further with the MHIC. MOH currently requires licensees using third party administrator (TPA) services to reflect TPA administrative fees in the patient's bill. However, as there is no direct patient care involved, we do not regulate the TPAs themselves. We understand that there are concerns about the potential impact on healthcare affordability and access when using TPAs, and we remain committed to minimising the risks by working closely with stakeholders, such as the College of Family Physicians. In response to Dr Shahira Abdullah, our two NSCs, namely the NUCOHS and the NDCS were set up to provide subsidised dental services for patients requiring more complex or specialist dental treatment. Although the NSCs also receive subsidised patient referrals directly from other Government hospitals, these numbers are very small and there is adequate capacity at the two NSCs to manage referrals for specialist treatment. On special care and geriatric dentistry, the Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme at the NUS includes training in geriatric dentistry. Today, the majority of dental needs of geriatric or special needs patients are met by general dentists.”
“Thereafter, non-CDL treatments may remain covered by private insurance products, such as IP riders. If affordability is an issue in private healthcare institutions, patients can opt for subsidised care at the public healthcare institutions where they may apply for additional support such as MediFund. Patients who receive ancillary services such as consultations, scans and blood tests as part of their cancer drug treatment and those requiring more intensive treatments are worried about future treatment costs. These can be claimed from MediShield Life under a separate cancer drug services limit. I would like to reassure patients that we are reviewing the data and intend to increase the claim limits. We will announce more details soon. I would like to assure Dr Tan Yia Swam that complementary health and wellness service providers are not licensed under the HCSA or the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act. As such, they are not allowed to provide any licensable healthcare services or purport to treat, diagnose or manage any medical conditions or diseases. We do not allow unlicensed providers to advertise services or skills relating to the treatment of a medical condition. These measures will be ported over to the Healthcare Services (Amendment) Bill, which will be debated in the House later this month. This allows unlicensed providers to be subject to the same penalties as licensed providers, if they contravene the regulations on healthcare advertising under the HCSA. We take a serious view of this and will not hesitate to take errant providers to task. Members of the public are encouraged to remain wary of exaggerated claims when consuming healthcare services from unlicensed providers. I also agree with Dr Tan that the CCRP could be used more widely.”
“Nonetheless, we are aware that the success rates of egg freezing remain relatively stable up to 37 years old at the point of donation. We are reviewing the evidence as part of the overall effort in developing the Assisted Reproduction Regulations under the HCSA. We agree with Dr Tan that we need to sustain our efforts on the affordability of cancer treatment while keeping MediShield Life premiums affordable. Although cancer patients account for about 2% of all patients, cancer drugs make up 35% of public sector drug spending. Over the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, this spending increased by over 90% while overall national age-adjusted cancer mortality improved by 2.1%. The CDL has allowed MOH to negotiate for lower drug prices, thus making cancer treatments more cost-effective and lowering the financial burden on patients and families. Since its announcement in 2021, the CDL has helped MOH secure an average price reduction of 30% on the listed drugs. Expensive and novel treatments may not equate to better outcomes, and we strongly encourage patients and practitioners to choose the listed drugs where possible. From 1 September to 31 December 2022, an average of 90% of patients in private medical institutions and about 95% of patients in Public Healthcare Institutions were on CDL treatments. A minority of patients are on non-CDL treatments and they may need time to adjust to the changes. Multiple support measures are being provided to help them continue with their current treatment course with minimal impact to their out-of-pocket expenses. These include financial support for existing patients in our public institutions and the preservation of IPs coverage until 30 September this year.”
“We are engaging the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) and the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) to identify areas where requirements need to be strengthened and where safeguards need to be fortified, specifically for health information. Health information is personal and it is something that Singaporeans expect to be carefully and sensitively handled. Thus, beyond engaging the PDPC and CSA, we have been extensively consulting stakeholders on issues surrounding data privacy and sharing. These include our licensees, healthcare professionals, IT vendors, members of the public, patients and caregivers. The views gathered are helping us shape the Bill to address our policy intent, the needs of patients and the administrative and operational costs for providers. The consultations continue and we will address the feedback. We subsequently intend to table the Bill in this House in the later part of this year. If I may, Sir, turn to addressing some of the cuts that Members have filed. Mr Alex Yam asked if the gestation limit for abortion could be lowered. Many countries have similar rules as us and allow for abortions for medical and socioeconomic reasons after 20 weeks. Our current rules are not exceptional. At 23 weeks gestation, there are high risks that these extremely pre-term babies if they survive, lead a very poor quality of life. Although it is improving, the chance of survival remains low. We will continue to work with the professional community to monitor the neonatal survival and morbidity data, and continue to evaluate the appropriate gestational threshold. In response to Miss Cheng Li Hui, the upper age limit of donors for elective egg freezing, which will be implemented in June 2023, is presently set at 35 years of age.”
“We are also exploring how to better facilitate the sharing of health and administrative data between these partners. The sharing of data also enables public agencies such as the HPB and Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to formulate national programmes, initiate new preventive healthcare programmes or reach out to residents who may be socially isolated and require support. For example, through its Preventive Health Visits with seniors, AIC's SGO shares relevant information it gathers with AACs and the Regional Health Systems so that they can follow up with relevant programmes for their residents. To achieve all this, we will be introducing new legislation, the Health Information Bill. This was announced by Minister Ong Ye Kung during the COS debate last year. There are three things the legislation will seek to achieve. First, to enable the collection of patients' selected health data from healthcare providers. Second, to allow healthcare providers to share health and administrative data with one another for specific purposes. And three – and third, I beg your pardon, to govern the collection, use and disclosure of such data by setting out robust cybersecurity and data security requirements. Given the sensitive nature of health information and the consequences of misuse, stringent requirements must be placed on the collection, use and sharing of health information. There are measures already in place under the Personal Data Protection Act and the Cybersecurity Act, and these requirements already apply to our healthcare providers today. However, we will do more.”
“If she does develop the condition during pregnancy, she will have a higher risk of developing diabetes within the five next years after delivery. So, her regular GP will need to know about what happened during the pregnancy and so work with her on preventive measures to keep diabetes at bay. Data sharing enables care and preventive care provision to take place seamlessly as she goes through different stages of her life and this data sharing needs to happen from the community practitioners to the hospital specialists, and back again. I agree with Dr Lim Wee Kiak that data sharing is needed to enhance patient care and on the need to expand the NEHR, as with Ms Mariam Jaafar on building our capabilities to harness the power of digital tools. The NEHR was designed to facilitate data sharing for care coordination and give healthcare providers greater visibility of the patient's medical history. This will enable practitioners to make better care decisions for their patients. We have integrated the HealthHub application within the NEHR. In addition to viewing health information, such as drug allergies and medications, patients and their authorised caregivers can also manage their medical appointments via the HealthHub app. With Healthy 365, patients can check their health points, track their physical activities and diet as well as access community activities. We intend to progressively make available more health information from the NEHR on the HealthHub app. To support these initiatives and many others, we will require our licensed healthcare providers and allow selected entities to contribute data to the NEHR. GPs participating in Healthier SG will be required to contribute to the NEHR within one year from the launch.”
“Mr Chairman, Sir, as our healthcare system evolves, services such as home care and teleconsultations are becoming more commonplace. These changes drove our move towards a premises-neutral and services-based regulatory regime. However, sharing of information remains limited. Patients need to remember and repeat their medical history and there is an administrative burden on providers to avoid unnecessary investigations or tests. Some programmes are attempting to close this gap, like the Primary Tech-Enhanced Care-Hypertension (PTEC-HT) Programme in polyclinics mentioned last year. This allows patients to submit their blood pressure data to their primary care team who views these readings through a dashboard. A patient can change polyclinics and the new polyclinic can continue to monitor the patient's blood pressure through the dashboard. The patient need not record and repeat their blood pressure readings from the original polyclinic. These are small steps in the right direction and we need to build on these steps. It is critical that healthcare providers can collect, access and share standardised health information across settings, to facilitate the provision of uninterrupted and holistic care. For example, we screen women at risk of gestational diabetes during pregnancy. We know that early detection and intervention for such women can improve both maternal and infant health outcomes. With Healthier SG and data sharing, GPs can identify women with pre-diabetes and support them on lifestyle changes to prevent the onset of diabetes. When the woman becomes pregnant, data sharing will enable her health information to be accessed by her obstetrician, who will then know about her higher risk to develop gestational diabetes.”
“Sir, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has developed various mental health services catering to youths. In schools, the Response, Early Intervention and Assessment in Community Mental Health (REACH) collaborates closely with the school and family to provide mental health interventions, such as depression, anger and anxiety management, coping skills and social skills group programmes to students with mental health needs. MOH will continue to work with the hospitals to ensure there are adequate resourcing for the REACH teams to cope with the needs from schools. In the community, we have set up services including the Youth Community Outreach Teams (CREST-Youth), Youth Integrated Teams (YITs) and Community Health Assessment Team (CHAT) that reach out and engage with at-risk youths. These services work closely with the schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to provide mental health screening and assessments, emotional support and psychosocial interventions and link youths to the appropriate resources and other services for further support.”
“Sir, when a request is made for the declassification, the National Archives of Singapore works together with the relevant Ministry and agency officers to examine the matter and takes into account issues to do with national security and defence, but also concerns to do with personal privacy, commercial information and sensitivities around protecting the process of how that material was derived. Mr Pritam Singh will appreciate that whether something is in the public interest for general release, does not only relate to the content of the document. It can also relates to the personnel that were involved in writing that document, managing the information, how that document relates to other material that is in the Archives or in other parts of the document store, as well as the process of that happening. So, there are a number of considerations. There is not a single template or algorithm to decide for all documents and it is done in conjunction with the Ministries and agencies.”
“We are committed to ensuring greater access to Government records, so that they can be a reference for the public to research and obtain information on Singapore. Sir, let me sum up. Building our digital infrastructure and research and innovation capabilities are foundational to a vibrant digital future for Singapore. With these strong foundations, our businesses and people have the ingredients to generate new opportunities and enhance their competitive edge, which Senior Minister of State Tan Kiat How will speak more about. I want to end by reiterating that our efforts to shape a bright digital future are premised on a very human objective, to improve the lives of Singaporeans. And with an eye to the future and close collaboration among all of us, I have every confidence that we can and will create a bright digital future for generations of Singaporeans to come.”
“One way is to approach the relevant Ministry to provide further details and a clarification. In addition, Mr Singh and Members of this House also have the option to file a Parliamentary Question, and receive a formal reply from the Government. There is a separate process where Ministries and agencies transfer their classified records to the NAS for long-term preservation and declassification when it is in the public interest to do so. This is pertinent to the question Ms He Ting Ru asked about making archival material more accessible. The NAS has been working with Government agencies to declassify and make available more Government records. The metadata of around 780,000 records are publicly accessible on Archives Online; and this has been increasing over the years. In addition, since 2016, Government agencies have reviewed more than 7,000 Government records that were not yet declassified. This was in response to 2,130 requests by members of the public. Eighty-three percent of these records have been approved for access. In total, some 68,000 file records have been declassified and made accessible to the public. In one example, the Government had agreed to declassify and release documents in Dr Goh Keng Swee's famous "Albatross File". This is a file that Dr Goh Keng Swee kept in the run-up to Singapore's separation from Malaysia. The process of declassification began some time ago, and took some time, given the complexity of the material. A subset of the material was part of a public exhibition, and a larger set of declassified "Albatross" documents will be released in a book on Separation, to be published later this year. They will include cabinet papers and Dr Goh's notes of his conversations with Malaysian leaders.”
“Mr Pritam Singh asked if the Government is prepared to release classified information that has already been extended for research purposes, to all sitting Members of Parliament. This is with reference to his request to an agency where the information sought had yet to be transferred to the National Archives of Singapore (NAS) for preservation. To be clear, the file in question is not available for public access and remains classified. This is distinct from public archives that are public records, that have been transferred to NAS and can be requested for inspection by any person, for the purpose of reference or research as set out in section 18(2) of the National Library Board Act. For records that remain classified and are not part of the public archives, agencies may grant access to specific information for specific purposes, such as to write a book, and subject to conditions, such as complying with the Official Secrets Act, and submitting the information to be quoted for vetting prior to release. In this particular instance, the agency had allowed the researcher access to relevant information from the records, with the understanding that the researcher would only publish and cite specific information with the agency's permission. As a matter of policy, the Government does provide researchers access to information for legitimate research purposes. But doing so, does not mean that the entire record has been declassified, nor that it is generally available to the public. If someone has a specific reason to access closed records, a request can be made, and the request will be assessed by the Government on its merits. If Mr Singh would like more information on the background, thinking or the rationale behind a Government policy, there are several routes he can take.”
“Our grant calls under the Future Communications R&D Programme support translational research. The aim is for these demand-led projects to generate products for the industry. And lastly, we are boosting cooperation with international partners to help sharpen our research and innovation efforts. In December last year, Singapore and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on AI, facilitating bilateral AI research and information exchange. As Minister Josephine Teo has emphasised, there must be safety and trust in the digital space for our businesses and people to feel confident tapping on new technologies. We are, therefore, also supporting the industry to pursue research and innovation in cybersecurity. An avenue through which the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore does this is the Cybersecurity Industry Call for Innovation, or CyberCall. One company that benefitted from CyberCall is MicroSec, which found a new way to secure low-powered IoT devices. Their solution has been deployed to improve the cybersecurity of 16,000 home devices, such as smart sockets in the HDB Punggol Northshore Project. Building the trust and safety necessary for innovation to thrive goes beyond cybersecurity. Users must be assured that businesses are employing technologies, such as AI, responsibly. The Minister has outlined in her speech how MCI is supporting businesses in providing such an assurance to customers. In addition to research into emerging technologies, there is research that contributes to knowledge and appreciation of our history and heritage, to inform who we are as a nation and a society. Government records are a key part of such research.”
“When employed effectively, AI brings benefits for businesses and individuals, such as increased efficiency through the automation of tasks and better decision-making through the provision of data-driven insights and predictions. The Government has been steadily investing in AI research and innovation and Singapore today is ranked among the top 10 countries based on publications at AI conferences and our researchers are internationally recognised. These research capabilities have yielded useful applications. For example, the researchers at AI Singapore's Speech Lab have significantly improved the accuracy of transcribing our Singaporean colloquial speech to English text, taking into account our unique accents, terms and mix of languages used. The solution has been adopted by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for their hotline services, improving back-end case management. Under the Government's Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plans, we will strengthen our research and innovation ecosystem in three areas: first, by expanding our base of research talent. We will continue to support our public research institutions in attracting and nurturing talent to drive innovation across the value chain. For example, the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office is partnering the National Research Foundation to launch a call for AI Investigatorships in the coming months. These Investigatorships are targeted at top-tier AI researchers who, in the course of their research, can also mentor and groom other promising talent. Two, enhancing the links between our research institutions and businesses, so that we can translate the fruits of our research into competitive advantages for businesses.”
“The decision to upgrade the NBN was prompted by trends toward more content generation by end-users and immersive interactions between users in the digital space. These have the potential to transform sectors such as education and entertainment. We want to ensure that our infrastructure can support such bandwidth-intensive activities. 4.30 pm This is a significant endeavour on a nationwide scale. It is important that we undertake it efficiently and in close partnership with the industry. Industry players generally recognise these trends, the bandwidth requirements they bring and the importance of planning ahead for our NBN infrastructure. MCI and the advisory panel will continue to engage the wider industry on the upgrade approach and consider their feedback as we chart our way forward. Sir, in keeping with our forward-looking approach, the Government has been making investments to build up a vibrant research and innovation ecosystem, to explore how emerging technologies can position our people, businesses and nation well for the future. While we roll out our 5G networks, we are already embarking on research into the next generation of communications technologies like 6G. We want to understand how they can enhance Singapore's digital connectivity and generate economic and social benefits for us in the future, just as 5G is beginning to do so today. Such upstream investments include the Future Communications Connectivity Lab, a testbed which IMDA partnered the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) to launch in Singapore last year. A more familiar tech area to many would be Artificial Intelligence, or AI, especially with the AI-driven chatbot, ChatGPT, gaining attention for its ability to generate content from law essays to code.”
“The blueprint will also identify interconnections with other digital infrastructure components that complement this connectivity layer such as data centres and digital utilities. These interconnections are vital to maximising the value of the infrastructure stack. As Ms Tin Pei Ling noted, it is important that we partner with industry to chart this path. Shaping the Digital Connectivity Blueprint alongside the Government is a newly set up Advisory Panel on Digital Infrastructure that I co-chair with Mr Irving Tan who has rich experience in the tech sector. The panel brings together industry and business leaders who will help us to understand and account for the wide range of perspectives in the evolving digital arena. Collectively, the members bring to the table insights on technical and business viability, international competitiveness, as well as potential business and consumer demand. Both Ms Jessica Tan and Ms Tin Pei Ling spoke about the importance of considering security and environmental sustainability as we plan for our future digital infrastructure. This is in line with the approach that the Government will and has been taking. The panel’s deliberations will be guided not just by economic imperatives but security, resilience, inclusion and sustainability too. Our partnership with industry goes beyond the panel. Also informing the blueprint are MCI’s engagements with the wider industry, including on the NBN. Ms Jessica Tan asked about our next steps to enhance the NBN. As announced last year, we will be embarking on a full-scale upgrade to deliver speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, which is 10 times faster than today.”
“This infrastructure stack includes wired and wireless networks which together provide connectivity within Singapore, subsea cables that connect us to the rest of the world, data centres that store and compute data which enable digital services, digital utilities which are foundational digital services such as digital identity, e-payment and e-invoicing, document attestation and data exchanges, all of which enable citizens and businesses to transact seamlessly and securely in the digital economy and "physical-digital" infrastructure such as Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices that enable the exchange of data between physical objects and digital networks. It is important that we continue planning for all these components in a holistic way. For example, for IoT deployment to grow, there must be security and sufficient capacity in our broadband and mobile networks. For users to experience seamless connectivity at home or on-the-go, the Wi-Fi and mobile speeds must be comparable. When it comes to digital infrastructure, the whole can be greater than the sum of the parts, provided we plan well and coordinate properly. We need to make the different layers and different components of the infrastructure stack work well together to sing together as a chorus to maximise our investments in each component. The Digital Connectivity Blueprint that Minister Josephine Teo briefly mentioned is being developed with this idea as well as future needs in mind. The blueprint will outline what is next for Singapore’s connectivity infrastructure, including the broadband, mobile and Wi-Fi networks that power our domestic connectivity and subsea cables that provide international connectivity.”
“This is Hyundai Motor Group’s first such facility in the world. They have shared with us that beyond Singapore’s position as a manufacturing and logistics hub, the Government’s support for innovation and cutting-edge digital infrastructure make us an attractive investment location. I look forward to the facility’s launch and the benefits that it will bring to Singaporeans. Another newly-awarded project is Weston Robot’s electric Unmanned Surface Vessel for autonomous river cleaning. 5G enables the video analytics and high data throughput necessary for the vessel to detect and clean rubbish outside of its pre-programmed path, and to respond to emergency situations such as oncoming boats. Much like the vehicle manufacturing example, this project will help to reduce manual labour by enabling operators to pilot multiple vessels from a command centre and thereby also allowing cleaning services companies to manage manpower constraints in the sector. These use cases represent the initial fruits of our early investments in 5G. Just as the full value of our investments in the NBN was realised over time, we can expect more applications of 5G in the coming years as the rollout is completed, the ecosystem matures and demand shifts. Today, we find ourselves having to consider similar bets to those we made for NBN and 5G, to ensure that our digital infrastructure stack is poised to power Singapore’s next bound of growth.”
“We facilitated the early roll-out of 5G standalone networks by allocating spectrum for our telcos to build them while setting clear performance, coverage, security and resilience requirements. To Ms Tin Pei Ling’s question on the progress of the 5G roll-out and development of use cases, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) had recently measured to confirm that we have reached 95% nationwide outdoor coverage on Singapore’s first two 5G standalone networks. With the roll-out progressing well ahead of schedule, our focus is currently on supporting the industry to tap on 5G’s capabilities to enhance their operations and service offerings. For example, IMDA has awarded new and innovative projects under its 5G Innovation Programme. One such project is the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Singapore. Unlike the fixed production lines in traditional manufacturing, Hyundai Motor Group’s upcoming facility will have over 100 mobile robots deployed across the factory floor to simultaneously transport material required for vehicle manufacturing. 5G is what enables seamless real-time data transmission between the back-end automated control system and the robots. 5G makes possible new manufacturing processes that will both enhance productivity and quality control. For workers, it reduces labour-intensive activity and minimises the safety risks they bear in manually transporting heavy material. It also creates opportunities for them to take on higher value roles. Hyundai Motor Group intends to hire robotics engineers, data analysts and process engineers for the ‘intelligent’ manufacturing facility. For consumers, the more agile manufacturing process allows for hyper-customisation of ‘built-to-order’ vehicles to cater to different needs and preferences.”
“When we made the decision to develop the NBN back in the mid-2000s, most people were comfortable with the 30 megabits per second speed that our copper-based infrastructure already provided. It was more than sufficient for browsing the web, checking your emails. Holding virtual conferences and lessons over platforms like Zoom or streaming media content over services like Netflix were not common as they are today, almost 20 years since we began our NBN journey. But without knowing the specific details of what would happen over the next 20 years, we envisaged that services like online collaboration, e-learning and high-definition entertainment would transform the way we live, work and play. The Government therefore invested in the NBN to provide the high-speed connectivity required to support these services for the betterment of Singaporeans’ lives. We began rolling out the NBN in 2008 and provided nationwide fibre coverage to homes by 2013. Today, one gigabit per second plans are the standard among households and 98% are on broadband. The NBN’s value was all the more apparent during COVID-19. Its buffer capacity enabled us to cater for increased network traffic from the surge in digital interactions, with the vast majority of us working or learning virtually from home at one point or another. This allowed us to maintain some continuity in the economic and social activity. It took nearly 20 years for us to realise the full potential of NBN. That same forward-looking perspective we adopted for the NBN underscored our more recent decision to build 5G standalone mobile networks. We foresee many possibilities in 5G for businesses, workers and consumers as a result of faster speed, lower latency and higher device connection density compared to 4G.”