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Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Er Dr Lee Bee Wah
MP for Nee Soon GRC
Question No. 1108
To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the Ministry doing to reduce the waiting time for dental treatment at polyclinics; (b) whether appointments for diagnosis and treatment can be made together with closer intervals; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider getting private practitioners onboard to relieve the manpower shortage.
Answer
1 Dental attendances in our polyclinics have been growing, from 149,000 in 2013 to 179,000 in 2016. Our polyclinics have expanded dental capacity, reviewed work processes and introduced measures to improve wait times. We will continue to expand capacity to address the increasing demand for dental services. This includes building more dental facilities in upcoming new polyclinics, such as Punggol Polyclinic, as well as expanding existing polyclinic dental facilities.
2 The introduction of the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS) in 2012 has also improved the accessibility of subsidised primary dental care through private dental clinics. Today, there are over 700 private dental clinics participating in CHAS, an increase from 290 in 2012. In 2016, there were over 500,000 subsidised dental attendances at CHAS dental clinics. Polyclinics also inform patients about availability of CHAS dental clinics, where eligible patients can also access primary dental care if they choose to do so.
3 Patients assessed to require immediate treatment can be attended to immediately. Most dental conditions are diagnosed and treated at the same sitting. However, a minority of patients require additional appointments for more extensive treatments. In such cases, when the next appointment is scheduled will depend on the urgency of the condition.
4 We will continue to monitor and meet the primary dental care needs of Singaporeans through both our polyclinics and CHAS dental clinics.