ANG MO KIO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL (Status and progress)

Mr Loh Meng See asked the Minister for Health what is the status and progress of the Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital; who will be managing it; and when will it be ready.

The Minister for Health (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Sir, the building of the new Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital was completed in January this year. My Ministry is currently in the process of installing the furniture and equipment and finalising the new operational systems. We are targeting to open the hospital at the end of June 1993.

Our original plan was to invite private organisations as well as Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) to help manage the hospital. However, no VWO responded, and the subsidy requested by the private organisations which responded was more than what the Government is providing to acute restructured hospitals. My Ministry has therefore decided to manage the Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital as a restructured hospital.

Mr Loh Meng See (Kampong Glam GRC): Sir, can the Minister give some details as to the discrepancy between the target subsidy that the Government was prepared to give and the kind of subsidy requested by the private sector, so that we can have an idea of the kind of cost discrepancy that exists?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, since the community hospital is a low activity hospital, the operating cost must necessarily be much lower than the acute hospitals. For the organisations which responded, the subsidies that they had requested for were, in fact, higher than the overall operating costs of the wards in the acute hospitals.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Sir, if it is not going to be run as a community hospital but it is going to be run as a restructured hospital, will it be run as a general hospital? And is there a need for such a hospital in Ang Mo Kio?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, the hospital will remain a community hospital. It is just that it will be run as a restructured hospital, ie, it will be run as an autonomous hospital.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Sir, what will be the charges for this community hospital when it is run as a restructured hospital?

Mr Yeo Cheow Tong: Sir, we are in the process of finalising the costings and I expect the charges to be lower than the equivalent class of wards in the acute hospitals.