Waiting Time At Restructured Hospital

16 Aug 2010

Question No:  233   

Question

Name of the Person: Dr Lam Pin Min

To ask the Minister for Health what are the waiting times for a new consultation with specialists at the restructured hospitals for the various major medical disciplines, for both subsidised and private patients.

Reply

Reply From MOH

Patients requiring a new medical consultation belong to one of three categories.

First, those who require immediate attention typically present themselves at the hospital Emergency Department.  They are attended to immediately by the relevant specialists.  There is no waiting time.

Second, those who are suspected of a serious illness, such as cancer or severe heart condition, require specialist medical attention as soon as possible.  There is an arrangement between polyclinics and hospitals to fast-track their appointments with the specialists.  Currently, the median waiting time for such private patients is within a week.  For subsidised cancer patients, it is within 2 weeks.  For subsidised cardiology patients, it is within 4 weeks.  While this is acceptable, we will try to reduce it further.

Finally, patients whose conditions are not urgent but who may benefit from a specialist consultation. Overall, the median waiting time for this category of patients is within 1 week for private patients and within 4 weeks for subsidised patients.  This is so for most specialties including for example, general surgery, ophthalmology and orthopaedic surgery.

However, for some specialties like dermatology, gastroenterology, and renal medicine, the median waiting times for subsidised patients exceed 6 weeks and will cause such patients unnecessary anxiety.  We have been stepping up specialist training in order to meet the rising demand.