Longer Waiting Times at Emergency Departments of Hospitals Located in Peripheral Residential Towns

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Health (a) why do hospitals located in peripheral residential towns such as Changi General Hospital, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Sengkang General Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital have longer inpatient admission waiting times at their emergency departments (EDs) when compared to hospitals located in the central part of Singapore; and (b) what can the Ministry do to better ease the load distribution of ED cases across all public hospitals in Singapore.

There are two possible reasons. First, tertiary hospitals in the central region like Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital were built with larger bed capacities to cater to comprehensive healthcare needs. Second, regional hospitals being located in housing estates cater to the high demand for healthcare services by residents, especially during the pandemic.

New hospital bed capacity will be progressively added with the opening of Woodland Health Campus and Tan Tock Seng Hospital Integrated Care Hub from 2023.  A new hospital in the Eastern region is also being planned to meet bed demand. More importantly, our population needs to stay healthy, which is why we launched the Healthier SG national strategy.