Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) is

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

's largest group of healthcare institutions. The group was formed in 2000 and consists of four

public hospital A public hospital, or government hospital, is a hospital which is government owned and is fully funded by the government and operates solely off the money that is collected from taxpayers to fund healthcare initiatives. In some countries, this typ ...

s, three community hospitals, five national specialty centres and a network of eight

polyclinic A polyclinic (where ''poly'' means "many"; not to be confused with the homonym policlinic, where ''poli'' means "city" and which is sometimes used for a hospital's outpatient department) is a clinic or health care facility that provides both gen ...

s. The

Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (OC ...

is the largest hospital in the group and serves as the flagship hospital for the cluster.

History

In November 1999, then-

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

Lim Hng Kiang Lim Hng Kiang ( zh, s=林勋强, p=Lín Xūnqiáng; born 9 April 1954) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Trade and Industry between 2004 and 2018, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office between 2003 and 2004, Mini ...

announced that Singapore's public healthcare institutions would be reorganised into two delivery networks, or clusters. In October 2000, the formation of the two clusters - National Healthcare Group and SingHealth - was officially completed. On 3 November 2009, Singapore General Hospital and SingHealth Group, both launched the inaugural issue of Singapore Health – a newspaper reporting on health-related matters affecting Singaporeans. On 18 November 2011, Changi General Hospital left SingHealth and formed the

Eastern Health Alliance Eastern Health Alliance ( Abbreviation: CGH; Chinese: 东部医疗联盟; ms, Gabungan Perkhidmatan Kesihatan Timur) was a regional health system in the east of Singapore. History The Eastern Health Alliance was officially launched on 18 Nove ...

along with St. Andrew's Community Hospital, SingHealth Polyclinics and The Salvation Army Peacehaven Nursing Home. On 20 January 2017, SingHealth announced that it would be merging with the Eastern Health Alliance, bringing

Changi General Hospital Changi General Hospital (abbreviation: CGH) is a 1000-bed hospital located in Simei, eastern Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lie ...

back into the SingHealth cluster.

Organisation

Polyclinics

SingHealth operates SingHealth Polyclinics, a network of primary care polyclinics largely situated in the southeast, east, and northeast of Singapore. These polyclinics provide primary care services to the population in these areas, and also provide training for family medicine physicians.

General hospitals

Singapore General Hospital

Singapore General Hospital is a 1,785-bed tertiary hospital (as of 2017) in Outram. It was founded in 1821, and is the largest and oldest hospital in Singapore. Its sprawling campus also includes several other specialty centres as well as Outram Polyclinic.

KK Women's and Children's Hospital

KK Women's and Children's Hospital is an 830-bed women and children-only hospital in Kampong Java. It was founded 1858 as a small general hospital, but then specialised as a maternity hospital, and later added paediatric services well. It is the largest hospital in Singapore dedicated to women's and children's healthcare.

Changi General Hospital

Changi General Hospital is a 1,000-bed regional hospital in

Simei Simei is a subzone located in the eastern part of Singapore, situated within the town of Tampines. The name ''Simei'' is pinyin for "Four Beauties" in Chinese. Formerly known as Tampines South, it was officially renamed to Simei in 1985. Histor ...

. It was founded in 1998 to serve patients in the east and northeast of Singapore. In 2011, it left SingHealth to form the Eastern Health Alliance with other healthcare institutions in the area, but in 2017 merged back with SingHealth.

Sengkang General Hospital

Sengkang General Hospital is a 1,000-bed regional hospital in

Sengkang Sengkang (, ta, செங்காங்) is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the second most populous in the region, being home to 249,370 residents in 2020. Sengkang shares bo ...

. It was founded in 2012 to serve patients in northeast of Singapore and to alleviate the patient load of Changi General Hospital. It initially trialled operations in

Alexandra Hospital Alexandra Hospital (AH) is a hospital located in Queenstown, Singapore that provides acute and community care under the National University Health System. The hospital's colonial-style buildings were constructed in the late 1930s on of land. ...

and later moved to its current campus in 2018. It is co-located with Sengkang Community Hospital.

National specialty centres

The national specialty centres of SingHealth are located in the Singapore General Hospital Outram campus, with the exception of the National Neuroscience Institute which is also co-located in the Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Novena A novena (from Latin: ''novem'', "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pe ...

campus.

Singapore National Eye Centre

thumbnail, 200px, Singapore National Eye Centre The

Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) The Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) is a national eye specialty centre in Singapore. SNEC manages more than 380,000 patient visits and over 41,000 surgeries annually. Its services include Corneal & External Eye Disease, Cataract & Compreh ...

is a specialty centre for ophthalmological services within the public health sector. Aside from clinical services in ophthalmology, the centre also provides education and research services, with its faculty of nearly 80 ophthalmologists. The Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) was established as the centre’s research arm for eye and vision research. SNEC manages more than 380,000 patient visits and over 41,000 surgeries annually, many of these are tertiary and complex in nature. The centre’s full spectrum of subspecialties addresses every part of the eye – Corneal & External Eye Disease, Cataract & Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Glaucoma, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Ocular Inflammation & Immunology, Oculoplastic, Paediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus, Refractive Surgery, and Medical & Surgical Retina. SNEC adopts a multi-subspecialty approach to treating complex eye conditions, as such disorders require strategic management with other disciplines. The centre undertakes 100% video recording of major surgeries and a full audit of outcomes, as well as the pursuit of high-impact translational research (known as clinical-focused research).

National Cancer Centre Singapore

The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) is the country's national specialty centre for the diagnosis, research and treatment of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. The centre has Singapore's largest concentration of "internationally qualified oncologists". It was originally established in 1993 as a unit of

. but is now an autonomous institution belonging to Singapore Health Services. The centre's founding director is Professor Soo Khee Chee. It is currently headed by Professor William Hwang, the NCCS provides a range of medical, educational and research activities within a single institution; and practices a multi-disciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment. The Centre, which is located in the Outram Medical Campus, is Southeast Asia's only full multi-disciplinary sub-specialist centre for cancer. In addition, the Centre is a teaching institution for post-graduate cancer education that trains and offers fellowships for many local and overseas doctors, nurses, para-medical professionals and researchers.

National Heart Centre Singapore

The National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) is a specialist medical centre in

for

cardiac The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

problems as well as a regional referral centre for cardiovascular diseases. Established in 1994 as the Singapore Heart Centre in the

, it was renamed in 1998. The heart centre took over the hospital's cardiac services and set up a

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular h ...

laboratory in 1995. In 2014, the NHCS completed its move to its new purpose-built building within the Singapore General Hospital Outram Campus at 5 Hospital Drive, Singapore 169609. The new building not only includes facilities for outpatient clinics and non-invasive testing, but also has operating theatres and an invasive cardiac catheterisation laboratory. With over 9,000 inpatient admissions every year, the 186-bed specialty centre for cardiovascular disease in Singapore offers treatments from preventive to rehabilitative cardiac services.

National Dental Centre Singapore

The National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS) is a facility in

for specialist oral healthcare services. It commenced operations on 1 March 1997 and claims to offer the largest concentration of specialist expertise in a single facility. The Centre's specialist teams attend to over 700 patients daily, including walk-in patients and those being referred to the centre. The Centre is equipped with 92-chair facility and a day surgery suite. The Centre has three specialist clinical departments, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics and

Restorative Dentistry Restorative dentistry is the study, diagnosis and integrated management of diseases of the teeth and their supporting structures and the rehabilitation of the dentition to functional and aesthetic requirements of the individual. Restorative dentis ...

, which attend to a wide range of oral conditions. The

Endodontics Endodontics (from the Greek roots ''endo-'' "inside" and ''odont-'' "tooth") is the dental specialty concerned with the study and treatment of the dental pulp. Overview Endodontics encompasses the study (practice) of the basic and clinical ...

, Paediatric Dentistry,

Periodontics Periodontology or periodontics (from Ancient Greek , – 'around'; and , – 'tooth', genitive , ) is the specialty of dentistry that studies supporting structures of teeth, as well as diseases and conditions that affect them. The supporting ...

and

Prosthodontics Prosthodontics, also known as dental prosthetics or prosthetic dentistry, is the area of dentistry that focuses on dental prostheses. It is one of 12 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA), Royal College of Surgeo ...

services are sub-units within the Department of Restorative Dentistry. Multidisciplinary sub-speciality services are available through the NDC's Centres for Corrective Jaw Surgery, Maxillofacial Rehabilitation and Facial Pain. The Centre is active in research as well as training, focusing especially on the professional education of dentists. NDCS has been being managed by Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd since 2002 and is located within the Singapore General Hospital Outram campus.

National Neuroscience Institute

The National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) is the national and regional specialty centre for the management and care of neurological diseases in Singapore, providing treatment for a broad range of illnesses that affect the brain, spine, nerves and muscles. As a national and international centre of excellence in the neurosciences, its mission and goals are — patient care, research and education. The NNI's

Neurology Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

Neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and pe ...

and

Neuroradiology Neuroradiology is a subspecialty of radiology focusing on the diagnosis and characterization of abnormalities of the central and peripheral nervous system, spine, and head and neck using neuroimaging techniques. Medical issues utilizing neuroradio ...

services provide care in these fields not only in Singapore but throughout the region. The establishment of the NNI in 1999 resulted in the transfer of the departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) to form a new clinical service. A new department of Neuroradiology was also set up to provide specialised diagnostic imaging and interventional services for neurological diseases. The NNI now has a campus co-located with SGH in Outram, but — unlike other SingHealth specialty centres — also has a campus alongside Tan Tock Seng Hospital in

Novena, Singapore Novena is a planning area located within the Central Region of Singapore. Novena is bounded by Toa Payoh to the north, Bukit Timah to the west, Tanglin to the south and Kallang to the east. While Novena is not classified as a "new town" by th ...

, and also provides specialty services to most other hospitals in Singapore.

Community hospitals

Bright Vision Hospital

Bright Vision Hospital (BVH) is a 318-bed community hospital in

Hougang Hougang is a planning area and mature residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the most populous in the region, being home to 247,528 residents as of 2018. Hougang planning area is bordered by Sengkang to th ...

. It was founded by Singapore Buddhist Welfare services in 2001, who then transferred ownership of the hospital to SingHealth in 2011 due to management challenges.

Outram Community Hospital

Outram Community Hospital is a community hospital in Outram. It is located adjacent to the

Sengkang Community Hospital

Sengkang Community Hospital is a community hospital in Sengkang. It is co-located with Sengkang General Hospital.

Incidents

2018 data breach

Personal particulars of 1.5 million SingHealth patients and records of medicines dispensed to outpatients, affecting a total of 160,000 such patients, were stolen in a

cyberattack A cyberattack is any offensive maneuver that targets computer information systems, computer networks, infrastructures, or personal computer devices. An attacker is a person or process that attempts to access data, functions, or other restricte ...

occurring between 27 June and 4 July 2018. Information relating to the names,

National Registration Identity Card The National Registration Identity Card (NRIC), colloquially known as "IC" ( ms, Kad Pengenalan Pendaftaran Negara; ; ta, அடையாள அட்டை) is the compulsory identity document issued to citizens and permanent residents of S ...

numbers, addresses, dates of birth, and race and gender of patients who visited specialist outpatient clinics and polyclinics between 1 May 2015 and 4 July 2018 was maliciously accessed and copied. Information relating to patient diagnosis, test results and doctors' notes were unaffected. Information on

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (; born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former brigadier-general who has been serving as Prime Minister of Singapore and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party since 2004. He has been the Member of Par ...

was specifically targeted.

References

External links

Official websiteHealth Xchange website
{{Authority control 2000 establishments in Singapore Singaporean companies established in 2000 Medical and health organisations based in Singapore Health care companies established in 2000