TAN TOCK SENG AND TOA PAYOH HOSPITALS (Number of patients admitted into B2 and C class wards)

Dr S. Vasoo asked the Acting Minister for Health whether the number of patients admitted into B2 and C Class wards in Tan Tock Seng and Toa Payoh Hospitals had increased in 1988 and 1989; and when will the upgrading of these two hospitals be expected to be completed.

The Acting Minister for Health (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Mr Speaker, Sir, admissions into C class wards in Toa Payoh Hospital (TPH) declined from 25,600 in 1987 to 22,900 in 1988. They further declined to 21,400 in 1989. There were no B2 beds in Toa Payoh Hospital during this period.

In Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), B2 admissions increased from 4,800 in 1987 to 5,400 in 1989. Admissions into the C class wards, on the other hand, steadily declined from 33,600 in 1987 to 30,500 in 1989.

TPH will be replaced by a 780-bedded hospital to be built in the eastern sector of Singapore in 1995. TTSH will be rebuilt as a 1,000-bedded hospital by 1996 at a site adjacent to the present hospital.

In the interim, the two hospitals are being upgraded to create a better environment and to improve the overall level of service and comfort for all patients.

TPH's upgrading programme completed so far includes the Accident & Emergency Department, administrative and registration offices, some of the wards, the Specialist Outpatient Clinics and patient waiting areas for all classes of patients. New day-surgery and endoscopy facilities have been developed. The remaining upgrading projects are expected to be completed by the end of next year.

TTSH has completed planning for its interim programme of upgrading. Work will begin and is scheduled for completion within a year and a half. TTSH will be expanding and improving patient service areas at the wards and the Specialist Outpatient Clinics. There will be new A&E facilities. Some of the under-utilised C class wards will also be converted into B2, B1 and A wards, for which there has been a consistently strong demand.