Public healthcare providers urged to strive for higher service, coordination level

28/09/2009
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Public healthcare providers here should strive for higher service and coordination level, similar to that seen at Formula One pit-stops.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who drew the analogy, said the professionals replace tyres and refuel cars within seconds.

Hence Singapore's healthcare providers, he said, should try to refer the patients without losing valuable time or information.

Mr Khaw was speaking when he toured the newly renovated Woodlands Polyclinic on Sunday.

He said healthcare services should be hassle-free.

"Patients are already sick with anxiety and pain. We should not add to their misery by our unnecessary bureaucracy or inefficiency. Healthcare services are already costly to provide, we should not add to the cost with unnecessary care and irrelevant frills," he said.

That's music to Madam Kamariah's ears as she visits the polyclinic once every three months for asthma treatment.

She used to wait for at least half an hour for blood test results before seeing the doctor.

"But with the family physician scheme, I get to see him early. Also, within 10 minutes after the blood test, I get to see him straight away...the blood test will be sent up straight to the doctor's computer," she said.

Aside from faster service, a new gym is also located inside the Woodlands Polyclinic - the first of its kind in Singapore.

Dr Gowri Doraisamy, head of Woodlands Polyclinic, said: "Many of our chronic patients with diabetes and hypertension have weight as a problem. We find that if we have a gym on site within the polyclinic premises, it actually completes their entire care. It makes us treat them in a holistic manner and they're more motivated to lose weight, when it's under the watchful eyes of a trainer, working in collaboration with a doctor."

Woodlands Polyclinic, which re-opened in January this year, sees up to 1,000 patients every day.