Singaporeans with Ongoing Follow-up at Restructured Hospitals or National Specialty Centre Outpatient Clinics and Their Travelling Time for Such Appointments

Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Health (a) how many Singaporeans have ongoing follow-up with a restructured hospital or national specialty centre outpatient clinic; and (b) what is the number broken down by travelling time by public transport from place of residence, including travelling times of (i) less than 30 minutes, (ii) 31 to 60 minutes, (iii) 61 to 90 minutes and (iv) more than 90 minutes.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: In 2020, about 1.05 million Singapore Citizens (SCs) and Permanent Residents (PRs) had ongoing follow-up Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOC) appointments at the public hospitals or national specialty centres.

More than 90% of the patients have a travel time of less than an hour. The estimated travelling time of these patients by public transport from their place of residence to the public hospitals or national specialty centres is shown in the table below.