With three internationally accredited hospitals and fi ve national specialty centres under its wings, SingHealth still remains the country’s largest and most comprehensive medical and healthcare group, providing facilities and services for holistic and up-to-date inpatient and outpatient treatments. It provides leading edge treatments in the fi elds of stomach cancer, orthopaedic, eye and heart surgeries, and neuroscience with strengths in the fields of stem cell research and biomedical research. In fact, many of its specialty centres are singled out as being the pioneer in their various fi elds in the region and even the world.
Its flagship hospital, Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has recently celebrated its 187th anniversary. Headed by Prof. Ang Chong Lye, SGH is Singapore’s largest acute tertiary hospital and national referral centre. It provides state-of-the-art facilities for its patient services with 29 clinical specialties and acts as the national referral centre of medical specialties such as Haematology, Endocrinology, Geriatric Medicine, Dermatology and Nuclear Medicine & PET (Positron Emission Tomography). One of its latest offerings is the new Khoo Teck Puat-NNI Integrated Neuroscience Centre, a world’s first that brings in the most modern technology in complete cancer care, otolaryngology, and orthopaedic surgery, allowing surgeons to conduct more complicated procedures in a shorter span of time.This enables the patient to heal quicker and better.
Meanwhile, the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) has the distinction of being the only hospital in Singapore that caters specifi cally to women’s and children’s health. With 150 years of service under its belt, KKH specialises in neonatology, paediatrics, and obstetrics & gynaecology. It has also recently opened a one-stop Centre for Breast Conditions and the Children’s Hospital Emergency Transport Services (CHETS). As the fi rst hospital to be allowed to use the FDA-approved digital computerised plate mammography, combined with computer-aided detection and analysis, the diagnosis of breast cancer in women below 50 years old has signifi cantly improved. Furthermore, KKH also provides a convenient one-stop “KK Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) Centre”, for convenient diagnosis and treatment of gynaecological conditions, such as the removal of polyps, endometriosis, and selected ectopic pregnancies.
The newest SingHealth hospital, Changi General Hospital (CGH), is located 10 minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Changi International Airport. Celebrating 12 years of service in the medical industry, CGH is a growing hospital that specialises in gastroenterology, sports medicine and rehabilitation services, and male-related medical conditions such as impotence and urinary incontinence. It also offers an inclusive medical facility for international travellers, and provides 24-hour Accident & Emergency (A&E) services.
The five specialty centres – National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS), National Neuroscience Institute (NNI), Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), and National Dental Centre (NDC) – all provide outpatient diagnosis and specialised treatments for specific ailments. NCCS oversees over 50 per cent of all cancer cases in Singapore, and provides cross-consultation among the largest pool of oncologists in the country. Meanwhile, NHCS specialises in cardiovascular medicine and treatment, becoming the fi rst heart centre in Asia to receive the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation for quality patient care. Similarly, NNI oversees all brain, spine, nerve, and muscle ailments, providing surgical and outpatient services across the board. SNEC, on the other hand, focuses on maximising optical health care and treatment, managing over 14,000 major eye surgeries and 13,000 laser procedures each year. And fi nally, NDC manages the full spectrum of simple to complex dental treatments with over 91 dental operatories and sees over 160,000 patients annually. SingHealth’s services span the breadth and depth of medical specialties and seek to bring together doctors and surgeons, clinicians, nurses and medical technicians in a vibrant, multidisciplinary setting to create a one-stop, across-the-board medical and healthcare organisation that brings the best of medical science, technology and care right to the doorstep of Singapore residents, both local and foreign. As a testament to its success, patients from overseas are also coming to seek treatment for complex medical issues and to tap on the leading edge solutions that the group is able to offer. SingHealth doctors are even able to collaborate with medical practitioners in other Southeast Asian countries.
Ultimately, SingHealth’s teams of doctors, researchers, and support staff strive as one to shape not just a hearty and healthy nation, but extend that goal beyond the borders of Singapore.