OUTPATIENT CLINIC IN DELTA CONSTITUENCY

Madam Chan Choy Siong asked the Minister for Health whether he has plans to establish an outpatient clinic in the Delta Constituency, which, according to statistics, has over 50,000 residents.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Mr Speaker, Sir, I regret to inform the hon. Member for Delta that there are no plans to establish an Outpatient Dispensary in her constituency for two reasons:-

Firstly, there are already two Government Outpatient Dispensaries in very close proximity to Delta Constituency:

(a) Tiong Bahru Outpatient Dispensary with three doctors at Jalan Membina, which is just outside Delta Constituency boundary, and

(b) Prince Philip Avenue Outpatient Dispensary with one doctor, which is about half-a-mile away.

Secondly, out of an approved doctor establishment of 461, there are still 37 vacancies and even if all these posts are filled, which is possible within the foreseeable future, the need for doctors to be posted into hospital wards is greater than that of the opening of new Outpatient Dispensaries. It is my view that the existing 26 Government Outpatient Dispensaries, which serve the whole of Singapore island, are more than adequate at present, and no expansion is therefore contemplated for some time.