Sick Singaporean unable to get place in public hospital due to “bed crunch”
March 7th, 2010 | 
Author: Written by Our Correspondent
Singapore supposedly has one of the best public healthcare systems in the world, but sick Singaporeans are having a hard time getting a place in public hospitals especially if one belongs to the lower “economic class”.
The waiting time for a bed at public hospitals usually stretch to hours, especially at the busy Tan Tock Seng Hospital where patients often have to wait overnight at the A&E for admission. It was reported by the media that some patients are even accommodated in beds placed in corridors till space is available in the ward.
The Sunday Times reported today of a 79 year old patient Mr Wee who was rushed to a public hospital in the morning for delirium. He was registered at about 11am and at 5pm, the staff were still unable to confirm if they had bed space.
He was subsequently transferred to Gleneagles Hospital where he was diagnosed to have advanced-stage liver cancer.
Mr Wee’s son was quoted as saying:
“Not only will we not benefit from subsidies, but he is also now classified as a private patient. I’ve done some calculations and our bills come up to five figures. As heartlanders, it’s difficult for us to afford this. What about poorer families who need the medical care but can’t get a bed in a public hospital? This is a problem that is very real.”
The bed crunch at Singapore public hospitals is a perennial problem which is worsening due to the increase in population sparked by massive immigration.
Due to the PAP’s liberal immigration and pro-foreigner policies, foreigners now make up 36 percent of Singapore’s population, up from 14 percent in 1990. Of the remaining 64 percent who are citizens, an increasing number are born overseas.
Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng revealed in Parliament lately that there were about 60,000 PRs and 20,000 new citizens last year, yet the number of public hospitals have remained at six.
The chronic shortage of public hospital beds is another example of the lack of foresight of the PAP to plan well ahead and to anticipate problems before they occur.
Way back in 2003, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced an ambitious plan to increase Singapore’s population to 6.5 million people by 2030 via immigration.
More hospitals should have been built in the meantime to accommodate for the expected increase in population. With more foreigners becoming Singapore PRs and citizens, they will exert an increasing demand on Singapore’s over-stretched public healthcare resources.
With no opposition in Parliament to check on the PAP and no independent media to point out their mistakes, it can afford to govern Singapore with a blank cheque and Singaporeans are now paying the price for their utter incompetence and ineptitude.
Should the construction of the Khoo Teck Puat and Jurong Hospitals commence a few years ago, we will not be facing such serious problems now.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan appears clueless on how to tackle the issue other than to liberalize the use of Medisave in Malaysian hospitals.
Perhaps Mr Khaw can appeal to the Malaysian government to allow Singaporeans to be treated at their public hospitals as well to ease the shortage of beds here.
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HOW COME ??
The shit is already halfway out, and they have yet to decided where and how to start digging holes to contend it. There goes their foresight or rather lack of it.
the bed crunch existed well before the influx of these FTs. so the gahmen has NO EXCUSE not to have forseen this problem of not having enough hospitals.
…………….
No One Will Be Left Behind [ JUST LEFT ASIDE TO DIE ]
http://news.asiaone.com/News/NDP+Rally+2007/NDP+Rally+2007.html
Singaporeans Comes First For Govt [ FIRST TO BE LEFT BEHIND ]
http://news.asiaone.com/News/the%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20100101-189132.html
You sick, you die! Don’t waste FT and PR bed space.
we are building and building for PR . for you guys who are lesser mortal, this is the msg ‘ LI SEE LI ER TAI CHI’
GOOD LUCK
Health Care????
Medisave???????
Medicare???????
Whatever the case as far as health and medical care is concern the cost of a funeral is far cheaper,faster and better.
If need to live longer???go to JB also cheaper,not so faster and not so better.
Singapore’s poor and elderly “MOTTO” better to die than to be sick.
Singapore’s govt. “MOTTO” no money??? no talk.Have money??? go on TV to tell the people every month I so Happy to see and count my money.Hopefully CPF will still be around after GIC & TEMASEK bad investment.
I believe every senior citizen who have contributed to the country should receive the proper medical care as he deserve…
It is very sad indeed.
Where’s the productivity & service quality ?
Since the late 90s there were already signs that our healthcare system is being stretched too thin. Like the above reader had mentioned, if KTPH and JGH are built 3 years earlier then we would never ended up having hospital bed crisis. What we are seeing now is that the regime are making ad hoc, short term policies with no coordination between the ministeries. After all the country is being run by a geriatric with obvious failing cognitive abilities. The problems of Singapore is a direct reflection of one man’s failing judgement and the general lack of testicular fortitude among the ranks of the PAP. LKY will drag us all into the graves with him! We must vote PAP out before it is too late!
Prime Minister said singaporean come first :
First to have sick beds placed in corridors till space is available in the ward.
First to be short-change
First to be bully
First to be fooled
First to do National Service to protect new citizens, PR & Foreign Talents.
First to go for Reservist to ensure the safety security for New Citizens, PR and Foreign Talents.
First to be sacrificed
First to be replaced by foreigners in work place
First to be compromised
First to be charged GST while visitors claimed their GST back at Changi Airport
First to be the Last.
If we continue to support PAP, native singaporeans have to prepare to face more such situation.
As I mentioned a few days back in another thread, Health Care here is on the way out, this minister is not doing his job satisfactorily and must be voted, no other way.
These PAPPies has no clue on the cronic health care problems faced by Singaporean everyday. When they and their families member are sick they are able to go straight to private or US hospitals for treatment.
Face it, looking after Singaporeans is not their top list. They are only going after GDP figure.
If one of the Familee or their Cronies fall sick they will get immediate attention by the top doctors in Spore.No appointments needed,consultation and treatment is Immediate.
When you or me are sick sorry take a number and wait if you die while waiting is your business.That is uniquely Spore.
Khaw Boon Wan’s bonus is pegged to GDP Growth.
Question:
Which will drive GDP Growth up?
(a) Build more B and C class wards for Singaporeans; or
(b) Build more A class wards and John Hopkins-type clinics for “medical tourists” from the Middle East, Indonesia, China, USA, UK, Europe. [Remember, each sick foreigner will be accompanied by loved ones during their stay, eg, a wealthy Arab family will book suites in 6* hotels, shop at Orchard Ion, Indonesians even buy condos near private hospitals to rent out home-stays for recuperation, etc.]
Khaw targets to make Singapore a “global medical tourism hub” but he relaxes Medisave for Singaporeans to go to third-world countries for elective surgeries.
So you decide and then choose carefully lol! Is this the type of Health Minister you want for Singapore?
Before we forget:
Minister Khaw was also very helpful in giving Singaporeans “one more option of nursing homes in JB”.
So if Ah Kong, Ah Ma, Daddy or Mummy get sick (useless already), you know what’s the other option now, eh?
Channel News Asia reported Minister Khaw’s suggestion in 2006. Then in 2009, Khaw was featured visiting a newly opened JB nursing home.
Way to go, eh?
@CitizenReddot on Sun, 7th Mar 2010 12:29 pm,
You wrote,”Singapore’s poor and elderly “MOTTO” better to die than to be sick.”…it’s a FACT .
For I had seen and heard many elderly who rather die than face hospital bills here.
Another fact is ,when an elderly medisave runs dry : their next-of-kins gets dragged into—wiping out their medisave accounts.
Thus the sick elderly are placed in a precarious position to wipe out the future medical needs of their young….something our elderly rather avoid and DIE instead.
Should we Abolish NS, discard the National Antemn – Majullah Singapura and trash the Pledge then let this place be a Pure Free Market – simply to make money only ???
*2 of my uncles and one of my aunties were killed by the Japanese when they invaded Singapore; similar to many other people who were either tortured or killed in Singapore at that time.
My grandparents and father suffered hunger and humiliations during the Japanese occupation of Singapore.
My father told me to do my National Service well
Without being a regular; I contributed until the rank of Major [NS] and was CO of one Guards Battalion and Brigade Dy S3.
*But now traitors had let in excessive numbers of cheap foreigners; invaded n mess up our lives in Singapore. This is same like the Japanese enemies who invaded n exploited Singapore 2 generations ago.
Many of us lost our biz, are jobless, missed local university places, missed scholarships, missed preferred primary school places, lost COEs, couldn’t afford public HDB flats, disrupted by foreigner queues jumping for buses, for trains, for tickets, etc. We are forced to be more boorish.
Many of us got squeezed out of PMET jobs and now have to work as taxi drivers, insurance n financial derivatives agents, property agents, etc.
*Now my 80+ yrs old father have to stand while foreigners occupy Priority/Reserved seats in MRT trains and queue behind foreigners at hospitals n polyclinics.
Foreigner enemies are all here amongst us and probably the only task left for our uniformed armed forces is to help our ruling party clear oppositions n protestors from our streets.
Now, unlike my father, I tell my sons that National Service is meaningless.
I also told my sons not to hurry in marriage and least of all having children who may become financial slaves to the banks thru buying expensive houses, cars, and also tax slaves etc.
IQ is genetic; ordinary locals got squeezed down the artificial Population ‘Bell Curve’ by foreigners in Singapore.
Quotas in Uni, JCs, Polys limiting locals plus FTs also squeezed us down the artificial Population ‘Bell Curve’ in Sgp.
Ever wonder what is Singapore’s Health Minister doing as Co-Chairman of the Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council since 2007?
This SJCC is co-chaired by Minister Khaw Boon Wan and Jiangsu Party Secretary Liang Baohua.
No wonder the good minister didn’t know that outpatient clinic queues start at the crack of dawn. Little wonder that new hospitals are being built too late. And we wonder why ambulances go round in circles looking for hospital beds.
Like all sensible people, we need to keep a back-door open, eh? After all, there is always a risk at every GE.
See what the free flow of influx of the new immigrants have
done to our lives!!??
Ist, housings not enough
2nd. education places not enough
3rd. hospitals beds not enough
Please, they are paying themselves $$millions.They are creame of the craps.How can they ALL been caught with all their pants and now their underwears down??!!
Where are their plannings,where are their foresights?
What happened to the famous ‘forecaster’??
Have ‘things’ happened so fast that nobody in the cabinet saw them coming??
Have all of you forgotten the meaning of ’shame’?
How on earth can these type of ‘things’ happened in our so-called First World, First Division,Elites of the highest
ranking City??
Where do we all go from here??!!Is it we just move on? and say’what happened was very bad’ ‘it happened, what to do?’
Come on! we deserve more than these!! If all of you cannot deliver, don’t you all think all of you should be kicked out?? We have been patience enough, we have been tolerance enough! What do you all expect we should do?? Yes! you are right, kick all your asses and out you go!!!
What has the govt been doing? Thinking of how to increase productivity and GDP so as to increase their own salaries? And ignore the welfare of the citizens? What’s the 1st world govt is? Swiss standard? For themselves or for the citizens? Do we still need this type of luxury govt? If they can’t do the job, please let other do! They are more cheaper, faster and better people can do the job. Please don’t cling on to the power and money. We are really sick of it.
a yr plus ago I admitted to NUH A&E, also the same, I got serious viral infection and extremely low blood pressure, but i slept along the corridor at A&E for a WHOLE NIGHT. i damn lucky next day got a bed. but hey, WTF is this? what if there wasnt any bed???
Oh don’t worry about the lack of hospital beds. When they want to harvest your organs(e.g. when you are ‘brain dead’), a bed will be prepared for you IMMEDIATELY, no questions asked.
In Singapore, if you need decent healthcare, go to Mount E, Gleneagles, Camden etc. Can’t afford it? It’s better that you die faster if you’re terminally ill.
Hey fellow daft,
Don’t you see that those leaders of ours are not very smart and are not far sighted. The sight they are looking is only in their pockets. That’s why you only see those Ministers’ eyes kept looking down if not sleeping during the parliament sitting. They couldn’t even come up with an intelligent rebuttal to just one opposition.
Do you still think that they are smart enough to lead Singapore? With the job they are doing now, there are many other Singaporeans who are able to do it if given the chance. If you really take a good look and examine the real work of those ’scholars’ ministers, they are just text book smart as they do everything by the book. They are actually not leaders but followers. Its no wonders they are all the frogs in the well. They know nothing about what’s really going on at the ground level and what to do about them. You have been fooled when they told you that you were not smart enough after all you did not do academically well as them. Its really a system which they set up to perpetual their ‘old boys’ club’ that is exclusive to the selected few. Frankly, you need the intelligence not the academic qualifications. With what’s going on in Singapore now, we can see that our people are really not very smart cos its the blind leading the blind.
So for how long are we going to just complain and grumble only. You have to start spreading the words about our present governments and what’s happening in Singapore to get everyone to bring change to the country. It doesn’t really matter when the election is. What matter most we have to start the ground work now. Its time for us to protect our very country where our leaders are selling us out. Don’t you see, these people don’t really identify themselves with the people. Its about them and us. In this country, its about the elite and the commoners. Singapore has not moved forward but backwards to the time of Industrial Revolution where workers got a raw deal.
They are not really providing a service to its citizens but want to earn every penny of you. In their planning, its never about social responsibility but profitability. Everything they do, its about the bottom line. Therefore, do you really think they will be able to change their mind set? Instead of just complaining and grumbling, its time to do your part. Persuade those around you to get them to really see what’s happening to this country. Its through the word of mouth that we can start gathering support for change.
Remember this, if you want change, change has to begin with us.
Khaw Boon Wan was born in Penang, that is probably why half of the time he mentions Malaysia. Soon, the parliament will be filled with PAP foreign talents like him.
LKY will drag us all into the graves with him! We must vote PAP out before it is too late!
Not exactly, he still want to live for another 50 years that’s why he refused to let his wife die peacefully by keeping her attached to some expensive machine till today. Of course, at the expense of the daft taxpayers.
It is not about foresight… its about pap lack of willingness to provide basic healthcare for its citizens… if singaporeans are fearful of voting against the pap.. then they deserve to be treated like animals… blame yourself singaporeans for being cowards…
Our HM Mr Kwan is an EX-malaysian, how would he care about poor middle class Singaporeans whether they can get a bed? You think he is so free to care about us? He is already thinking about how to make more money for SingHealth corp and private companies having private hospitals in malaysia to cater to the influx of SG patients. He is not building public hospitals because he wants us to use the services that has been under utilise in malaysia. There is an acute problem since 5 years ago. What took him so long to attend to it?
All the current problems that Singaporeans are facing now are created by the incompetent PM. He is obviously not the right person to lead the country only his father thinks so.
Before Singapore is going to be destroyed by LHL, let vote him out before it is too late !!!
Know why PAP like foreigners so much? It is because these people come here for the money and willing to work for anyone who can make them rich.
It makes it easy for the PAP to slowly eliminate all the locals whom they considered stupid, lazy and unproductive.
“media that some patients are even accommodated in beds placed in corridors till space is available in the ward”.
Where is our Swiss standard of living? Looks more like 3rd World Standard of Living.
My colleague’s mom was diagnosed with lung cancer recently. The family was forced to go to Mt E. for treatment eventhough the family is not well off. They have to pull the money together to send the mother for treatment which runs into 5 figures into short period of time. A pet scan easily costs $2000 in private practices and 10 mins consultation is minimum $200 excluding hefty costs of medicines. In General Hospital the appointmnet strentches to more than 1 month even for acute cases, which means the mother would basically wait to die if they choose to go to SGH.
To play safe next time bring your own bed!!!hehe
Healthcare is a basic rights of a citizen. The problem is if we benchmark the government with healthcare (vis-a-vis) we citizens have the answer.
Khaw is in Sembawang GRC. Time to vote him out!!
What all these millionaire Minister been doing?
MBT..HDB predict wrongly and short of supply
FT also wrongly implemented…
Hospital also short of supply..
Stop at Two..baby production also wrng…
University places also not enough(but enough for foreigner)..
Etc,,etc,,,
Gee..they get paid millions for all these..sigh…pity sporean…
The millions of dollars spent for integration of new citizens/FTs/PRs in the local population could have been used to buy more beds and employ for staff in these public hospitals. What a shame, even the sick are being treated like beggars. Most of the public hospitals made handsome profits the past few years. Surely, they can spend more money to upgrade and improve the service standard. The trouble is, everything in these country is about money, the dollars and cents.
China is moving towards democracy with Hu and Wen a real enlightening leader.
Morover China is now moving towards socialism health care as well.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/21/content_10698501.htm
Taiwan is already have heavily subsidize healthcare, so as HK.
TR stop posting inaccurate article, u all are not helping singaporean at all, instance u are harming us.
o yah u guys have no brain.
So singaporeans, please spread the word out that we must vote out all these Pappies in this coming GE. This is the final last chance for all true singaporeans. Afterwhich, our votes will be considered useless and worthless.
Ppl, let’s dont be too selfish in only looking for our own interest, becos that will be a day to come when the turns will come to you. So start doing the right thing now.
Vote all Pappies out forever….We need new govt to rule us from oppostion parties.
[QUOTE]
BSBSBS on Sun, 7th Mar 2010 5:04 pm
TR stop posting inaccurate article, u all are not helping singaporean at all, instance u are harming us.
o yah u guys have no brain. [/QUOTE]
Lol, typical PAP dog. Think you can push your ways around. You have a choice whether to visit this site or not but don’t tell people what to do. Who has no brain now?
Back to the topic, it is very sad that after all the nation building and defense talks about how we defend our people’s rights and dignity, we have become a country that run by a foreign power. The foreign power together with the foreign talents they let in run this country and that think their pockets are more important than the people.
Don’t worry, not enough bed U can go to Malaysia, now can use your Medisave convert into ringgit. Much cheaper. Here the bed reserve for foreigner can made extra foreign income.Help to increase GPD growth. My salary depend on GPD growth. Understand U Idiot Singaporean.
yes, and for dental! the private dental clinic are so expensive which I cant afford and had to try booking a dental appointment from the polyclinic. and guess what I have to wait for 4 months EARLIEST for an appointment with the dentist.
So i called the national dental center. They told me that I have to get a referral from the polyclinic inorder to see the dentist there and the wait time should be somewhere around 6 months upon getting the referral.
So wait for 3-4months for Polyclinic + another 6 another for NDC. this means that I will have to wait almost 1 year to solve my tooth problems.
Affordable healthcare is history since the day the govt ‘restructured’ the hospitals and polyclinics. It has been a govt policy to make Singaporeans paid ‘market’ prices for what is rightfully a whole range of public services, i.e. a citizen’s entitlement not a privilege.
i think bed shortage isn’t a “problem” per se. Hospitals worldwide struggle with issues such as this.
what is really upsetting though, is that if we are truly suffering from bed shortage for our own citizens and residents, why are we still promoting medical tourism? this is simply an issue of priorities –> are we more interested in ensuring better healthcare for our citizens and residents, or earning foreign exchange from tourists?!
and pls for christ’s sake, stop giving us bullshit that “its both.”
@BSBSBS: If you think we have ‘no brains’ here, why are you reading all the articles? a person who CHOOSES to go to a so-called ‘no brain’ web-site, isnt this person more of a moron? anyway, are u the guy who posted in the other posts on housing that u dont have money to buy house because u marry PR? Then too bad, who ask u to import foreigner? pay the price! hahahahaha~!
I wonder if the ministers ever allow their family menbers to use public medical healthcare. they have to try to know how shitty it is. imagine having to wait in a polyclinic for 3.5 hrs to get treated for flu, wont the illness worsen? worse are the stories have having to be hospitalized. the situation itself is enuff to make me sick with disgust.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/03/AR2010030301396.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
seems like the writer does not know about the ugly truth…
Just vote the shit out !!