Waiting Time for Couples to Attend Assisted Reproductive Treatment Clinics at Public Hospitals

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) for each year in the past two years, what is the mean and median number of hours that couples wait when attending appointments for assisted reproductive treatments at public hospitals; and (b) if this data is not available, whether the Ministry will consider tracking such waiting times.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: The Ministry of Health (MOH) does not track how long patients wait when attending outpatient appointments at public hospitals. Instead, MOH tracks wait times to the date of the appointment as an indicator of accessibility to Assisted Reproductive treatment. This is a more meaningful indicator as almost all patients seeking this treatment are on appointments.