Update on Efforts to Alleviate Shortage of Hospital Beds and Nursing Staff in Public Hospitals

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Health (a) whether there remains shortages of hospital beds and available nursing staff in public hospitals, relative to a year ago; (b) what is the progress of ongoing plans to increase hospital capacity; and (c) whether public hospitals are currently facing capacity constraints, even in non-crisis environments, and, if so, why.

Like most developed countries, Singapore continues to experience a capacity crunch post-COVID-19. This is aggravated by an ageing population. Hospitals are seeing more elderly patients with more complex conditions, who require much longer length of stays.

We will need to continue increasing our hospital capacity. We have also been building up our nursing workforce and the staffing situation in our public hospitals has improved relative to a year ago.

While hospital infrastructure projects were delayed due to the pandemic, we are progressively catching up. Tan Tock Seng-Integrated Care Hub has opened 300 beds since October 2023 while Woodlands Health Campus is expected to be in operation by middle of this year, with 360 beds in operation and almost 600 by end of the year. Plans for Eastern Integrated Health Campus and redevelopment of Alexandra Hospital remain on track to be completed by the end of the decade.

In addition, hospitals are tapping on facilities like Transitional Care Facilities and alternative care models like Mobile Inpatient Care@Home to expand overall capacity.