Patient Load and Doctors' Workload at Sengkang Polyclinic

Dr Lam Pin Min asked the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on (i) the current patient load and doctors' workload at the Sengkang polyclinic; and (ii) the progress of development on the new Punggol polyclinic.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: In 2011, Sengkang polyclinic saw a total of 217,000 attendances. This was an increase of 17% from 2008.

On the other hand, the number of attending doctors also increased by 33% from an average of nine to 12 over the same period. Consequently, doctors' workload has fallen from an average of 63 patients seen per day in 2008 to 59 patients seen per day in 2011.

In addition, Sengkang polyclinic has worked towards service improvement to better serve the residents. Measures like self-registration kiosks, consolidated payment and fully automated scheduling of follow-up appointments help to provide a seamless experience for patients and reduce their waiting time by up to 30 minutes. We will continue to find new ways to improve our services.

Planning for Punggol polyclinic is in progress and MOH is working with the URA to identify a suitable site.

In the meantime, residents can access subsidised health care services in GP clinics and private dentists through the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS), even beyond polyclinic opening hours. Under the enhanced CHAS, Singaporeans up to middle income and above the age of 40 years old would benefit from subsidised primary care in participating private clinics. As of April this year, about 100,000 Singaporeans have registered under CHAS and a total of 732 GP clinics and dental clinics are participating in the scheme, including 10 GP clinics and two dental clinics in the Sengkang and Punggol area.

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