Extension of Opening Hours for Polyclinics and Private Clinics on Community Health Assist Scheme

Ms Foo Mee Har asked the Minister for Health how can Government polyclinics and private clinics on the Community Health Assist Scheme be encouraged to extend their opening hours so that patients can visit these primary healthcare providers rather than resort to the Accident and Emergency Departments of public hospitals.

Several measures are in place to encourage and facilitate patients with non-emergency conditions to visit primary care clinics instead of the Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments of public hospitals. For example, Health Promotion Board (HPB) holds regular campaigns to help Singaporeans differentiate between emergencies and non-emergencies, and to encourage Singaporeans to use primary care services if their condition is not an emergency.

HPB is also working with the College of Family Physicians Singapore (CFPS) on media campaigns to encourage more Singaporeans to have a regular family doctor. There will be greater familiarity and trust between the patients and their regular family doctor. This often allows medical conditions to be preemptively managed before they turn into emergencies.

A&E departments too have been making efforts to encourage patients with non-emergencies to visit their nearby clinics instead. These arrangements are extended well beyond office hours, although the peak attendances at the A&E usually occur between 10.00 am and 12.00 noon. GPFirst is one example where Changi General Hospital works closely with partnering general practitioner (GP) clinics to encourage and empower patients to see their GPs first for mild to moderate medical conditions. This way, GPs can manage the non-emergencies and refer only the emergencies to A&E, thereby better utilising our A&E resources.

Polyclinics have also been working closely with nearby GP clinics, especially those on the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), to encourage patients to visit these clinics after polyclinic opening hours, instead of the A&E departments. Polyclinics also share with their patients the locations of nearby CHAS participating clinics to provide patients with information on where they can seek care after polyclinic opening hours. At least 300 CHAS participating clinics operate in the evenings.

Some Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs) also open beyond the typical operating hours of GP clinics and polyclinics. The latest FMC at Bedok, for example, operates from 8.00 am to 9.00 pm daily, while Frontier FMC operates from 8.30 am to 7.30 pm on weekdays and from

Page: 126

8.30 am to 4.30 pm on Saturdays. MOH is working with other FMCs to extend their operating hours.

I would like to urge patients to visit their nearby GP clinics and avoid going to the A&E departments for minor illnesses. MOH will continue efforts to educate the public on non-emergency conditions that can be adequately managed by primary care providers so that patients are able to seek care at the appropriate setting and the A&Es can focus their resources on those who really need emergency services.