Jurong hospital to be ready earlier

Jurong hospital to be ready earlier

 

FOR patients in Singapore, it looks like the economic downturn could have some upsides.

 

Construction plans for the new Jurong General Hospital have been brought forward to take advantage of softening construction costs. Originally slated for completion in 2015, it could be opened earlier now, revealed Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

 

The slowing economy also raises the possibility of cheaper medication, as the steep increase in drug prices in the last two years were partly due to high oil prices. “The oil prices coming down, that would have an impact on drug prices,” said Mr Khaw.

 

Wage increases, too, will not be as significant as in previous years, he noted — although it would remain vital to keep salaries, such as for specialists and nurses, on par with the market’s.

 

Is medical tourism, however, proving to be a casualty of the ongoing financial crisis?

 

ParkwayHealth reports that over the last three months, it has seen a 5- to7-per-cent dip in the number of foreign patients. “I suspect we’ll probably taper off at about 10 per cent,” said Parkway Holdings managing director Dr Lim Cheok Peng.

 

The decrease has been more noticeable among Indonesian patients. But at the same time, more patients are coming from Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Middle East, and the hospital is looking to tap “the Russian front” as well, said Dr Lim.

 

The healthcare provider yesterday held the groundbreaking for its flagship hospital at Novena. With 350 beds and costing between $300 million to $500 to build, it should open in 2011.

 

Said Dr Lim: “This is about the best time to build a hospital whereby we have more time, and our hands are not so tied with operational problems, so we can pay more attention to the construction.”

 

Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony, Mr Khaw said that while the number of foreign patients seeking treatment here last year was “quite flat” compared to that of 2006, he did not believe this was due to slower demand.

 

Rather, he blamed the lack of capacity.

 

“I don’t think it’s because demand has shrunk or we are losing competitiveness, but capacity is constrained. When I visit friends who go to private hospitals, I look at the ward, choc-a-bloc, just like public hospitals,” he said. “I think it’s a situation of where demand has been curtailed because we don’t have enough capacity to respond.”

 

The national aim is to treat one million foreign patients a year by 2012.

 

In light of the shortage of hospital beds, Mr Khaw welcomed the entry of the new Jurong hospital and another private hospital. Singapore HealthPartners, a partnership formed by local doctors, is building a “mediplex”, which consists of a hospital, hotel and specialist medical centre, in Little India.

 

Then there is the shortage of doctors.

 

More than 600 doctors graduated in Singapore in the last three years, while over 1,000 foreign medical graduates were recruited in the same period. Still, there is a need for more doctors to service new citizens and foreign patients.

 

Recruitment is not expected to slow with the recession, and no pay cuts are expected for public sector nurses and doctors. It was important to pay them the market rate, said Mr Khaw, else the industry might lose 300 specialists by the time the Jurong hospital opens.

 

Source: Today Newspaper