Annual Budgets Provided to Primary Care, Community Hospitals and Nursing Homes in Last Three Financial Years and Plans for Higher Allocations Given Ageing Population with More Chronic Diseases

Ms Ng Ling Ling asked the Minister for Health for the last three financial years (a) what are the annual budgets provided respectively to (i) public hospitals, (ii) public specialist outpatient clinics, (iii) primary care including both polyclinics and subsidies under the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) to private general practitioners, (iv) community hospitals and (v) nursing homes; and (b) whether there will be considerations for a higher budget allocation to primary care, community hospitals and nursing homes given the ageing population with more chronic diseases.

MOH’s expenditure on public acute hospitals, including public specialist outpatient clinics, grew from $6.7 billion in FY2017 to $6.9 billion in FY2019. MOH’s expenditure on the primary care sector and intermediate and long-term care sector, including community hospitals and nursing homes, increased from $1.4 billion in FY2017 to $2 billion in FY2019. We expect this trend of rising investment in primary and intermediate and long-term care to continue.

We have ramped up capacity and capability in the primary care and intermediate and long-term care sectors to provide care that better meets the needs of patients closer to their homes. By 2030, the number of polyclinics will increase from 23 today to 32, and we will build another three new public community hospitals. Aged care services will also expand considerably to support seniors to age-in-place.