SINGAPORE: A proposed medical tower at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) is expected to add about 600 acute beds and have an expanded emergency department, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung announced on Tuesday (Sep 9).
The project, slated for completion sometime beyond 2030, forms part of the next phase of the HealthCity Novena Master Plan. It is intended to boost healthcare capacity, strengthen frailty-ready care, and improve access and clinical care outcomes for 1.5 million residents in central and northern Singapore.
TTSH, which sits within mature housing estates, already serves a population with a higher proportion of seniors than the national average.
In 2023, the hospital’s inpatients aged 65 and above were 1.5 times that of the national norm for males and 2.2 times for females, NHG Health said.
As more residents are expected to undergo preventive screening, those with newly detected or complex chronic conditions will also need timely intervention.
The proposed expansion aims to improve access to specialist care across NHG Health’s network of specialists, reduce wait times and smooth the transition between primary, tertiary and community care.
To facilitate the building of the proposed TTSH medical tower, existing specialist outpatient clinics, laboratories and offices from the CDC 2 and Annex 2 buildings will be moved to a temporary facility at the former pavilion wards.
Once the second phase of the HealthCity Novena Master Plan is completed, there will be three spaces in the TTSH campus: the Specialist, Community and Future HealthSpaces, Mr Ong said.
“The HealthCity Novena Master Plan is not just about the transformation of TTSH, but also the evolution of healthcare in Singapore.”
