Proportion of Births versus Deaths of Those Aged 65 Years and Above Registered at Private and Public Hospitals

Ms Sun Xueling asked the Minister for Health for each of the last three years, what has been the proportion of (i) births registered and (ii) deaths registered for those aged 65 years and above, in private versus public hospitals.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: The proportion of births registered at public hospitals was 41.7%, 43.3% and 44.7% in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. For private hospitals, the figures were 58.0%, 56.4% and 54.9% respectively. A small proportion of births occurred at other locations such as personal residences.

For elderly decedents aged 65 years and older, 57.7%, 59.0% and 59.1% of deaths were registered at public hospitals in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. Less than 2% of elderly deaths were registered in private hospitals from 2014 to 2016. Other places of death, which include nursing homes, charitable institutions, and personal residences, comprised approximately 40% of elderly deaths in the period 2014-2016.