National Healthcare Group
National Healthcare Group is a Singapore group of healthcare institutions. The group was formed in 2000 and has one public hospital across the island, three specialist centres and runs eight polyclinics as well. The group operates Tan Tock Seng Hospital and the Institute of Mental Health. The group runs three specialists healthcare centres: the National Skin Centre, Communicable Disease Centre and the Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre.
About National Healthcare Group (NHG)
NHG is a Regional Health System for Singapore. They provide care through an integrated network and collaborate with Hospitals, Specialty Centres, Polyclinics, Patients, Caregivers, Partners, Volunteers and the Community.
Institutions and Business Divisions
NHG's Care is provided through an integrated network of nine primary healthcare polyclinics, acute care and tertiary hospitals, national specialty centres and business divisions.
Institutions
Tan Tock Seng Hospital
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) was established in 1844 and named after its founder, Mr Tan Tock Seng, a philanthropist. Over the years, Tan Tock Seng Hospital has become Singapore’s second largest acute care general hospital with over 1,500 beds.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission International. It includes the Communicable Disease Centre, Foot Care & Limb Design Centre and Tan Tock Seng Hospital Rehabilitation Centre.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital has 27 clinical departments including infectious diseases, geriatric medicine, rehabilitation medicine, respiratory medicine, rheumatology, allergy and immunology. It is also a major referral centre for emergency medicine, diagnostic radiology, ophthalmology (eye), otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), orthopaedic surgery, gastroenterology, general medicine and general surgery. The hospital also encompasses two major specialty centres in rehabilitation medicine and communicable diseases.
In March 2003 when Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) struck in Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital was designated as the screening and treatment centre for SARS. Today, the hospital continues to research on emerging infectious diseases.
Institute of Mental Health
The Institute of Mental Health, founded in 1928, is a 2,000-bed acute tertiary psychiatric hospital situated on a 25-hectare campus at Buangkok Green Medical Park. It offers a comprehensive range of psychiatric, rehabilitative and counselling services for children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. This was the first mental hospital in Singapore, starting with some 1,000 patients. Departments include clinical psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, and medical social work. There are 50 wards for inpatients and seven Specialist Outpatient Clinics.
The Institute was the first mental health institution in Asia to receive the Joint Commission International Accreditation in 2005. It has a reputation for quality research. In 2008, the Ministry of Health, Singapore, entrusted Institute of Mental Health with a S$25 million research grant to implement translational and clinical research into the causes of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders.
It trains psychiatrists and mental health professionals through the NHG-AHPL Residency Programme for psychiatry and through collaborations with the local tertiary institutions.
National Healthcare Group Polyclinics
National Healthcare Group Polyclinicsis the primary healthcare arm of the National Healthcare Group. Its nine polyclinics serve a significant proportion of the population in the central, northern and western parts of Singapore. It provides a one-stop health centre providing treatment for acute medical conditions, management of chronic diseases, women & child health services and dental care.The focus of NHGP’s care is on health promotion and disease prevention, early and accurate diagnosis, disease management through physician led team-based care as well as enhancing the capability of Family Medicine through research and teaching. Through the Family Medicine Academy and the NHG Family Medicine Residency Programme, it plays an integral role in the delivery of primary care training at medical undergraduate and post-graduate levels. It has also been awarded the prestigious Joint Commission International accreditation under the Primary Care Standards.
National Skin Centre
The National Skin Centre is an outpatient specialist dermatological centre with a team of dermatologists. It handles a patient load of about 1,000 patients daily. It started its operations on 1 November 1988 after taking over the treatment of skin diseases from Middle Road Hospital. It provides specialised dermatological services, trains medical students and postgraduates, and undertakes research in dermatology and conducts Continuing Medical Education for doctors and paramedical personnel.
Business Divisions
NHG College
National Healthcare Group College was established on 19 July 2002 to educate, train and raise the professionalism of NHG staff. It is structured into four institutes, namely the Institute of Healthcare Leadership, Institute of Clinical Education, Institute of Healthcare Quality and the Institute of Professional Training.
NHG Diagnostics
National Healthcare Group Diagnostics was founded in 2000. It provides one-stop laboratory and radiography services in primary healthcare, with an extensive network of tele-radiology and professional service for imaging centres in Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam and a range of diagnostics services at polyclinics, community hospitals, private medical centres and mobile fleets. Services include general x-ray, mammography, ultrasound, electrocardiography, spirometry and laboratory services. It also provides tele-radiology service, laboratory and radiology management, and professional consultancy services in setting up of diagnostics services and clinical laboratories
The tele-radiology network in Singapore allows x-ray images to be transmitted and reported by radiologists promptly. In 2006, NHG received the National Infocomm Award Merit Award from Infocomm Development Authority for this tele-radiology initiative.
The mammography centres and Mammobus are accredited under the Health Promotion Board to provide subsidised mammogram screening. Singapore citizens and Singapore Permanent Residents can utilise their Medisave to help defray the cost of their regular mammogram.
National Healthcare Group Diagnostics is certified under ISO 9001 and ISO 15189 which is under the Singapore Accreditation Council-Singapore Laboratory Accreditation Scheme (SAC-SINGLAS). In 2012, National Healthcare Group Diagnostics also joined efforts with the nine National Healthcare Group Polyclinics to attain the JCI or Joint Commission International (Primary Care Standard) accreditation.
NHG Pharmacy
National Healthcare Group Pharmacy manages the pharmacy and retail pharmacies at the nine polyclinics and in retail centres.
Among the pharmaceutical care services available are Smoking Cessation Clinics, pharmacist-led Anti-Coagulation Clinics and Hypertension-Diabetes-Lipidemia ClinicC where pharmacists monitor and help patients to optimise their medication use in order to achieve the desired outcomes. Patients may also consult pharmacists for treatment of their minor ailments or for travel or nutritional advice.
Patients with the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics have the choice of refilling their prescriptions online. With the NHG Pharmacy's Online Prescription Medicines Refill, patients can opt to have the balance of their uncollected medicines delivered to them, or collected from a designated polyclinic.
NHG Pharmacy has been providing medication management services to the Intermediate Long Term Care facilities since November 2003.
In May 2010, NHG Pharmacy introduced Singapore’s first Multi-dose Medication Management Service, Convidose™: Safer, Easier Medicines – for nursing home residents, patients and caregivers. With Convidose™, patients’ medicine dosages can be pre-packaged into individual sachets, according to the stipulated quantity and time the pills need to be consumed.
Primary Care Academy
Established in April 2007, Primary Care Academy was set up to meet the training needs and skills upgrading of primary care doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and ancillary staff in Singapore and the region. It also aims to be a platform for sharing of expertise and capacity building among community healthcare practitioners & leaders in ASEAN and the surrounding region.
Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre
Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre is the only fully branded Hopkins facility outside of the USA to be jointly owned and managed by Johns Hopkins.
Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre opened in 2000 and has been located in Tan Tock Seng Hospital since 2005. It was the first among private health care institutions in Singapore to receive Joint Commission International accreditation and has an oncology service with 30 inpatient beds, including a high-end presidential suite for dignitaries and an outpatient unit for chemotherapy. Staffed by The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine faculty, it provides outpatient diagnostic and consultation services, screening programmes, expert second opinions and inpatient care focusing on treatment of various cancers including breast, ovarian, uterine, cervical, lung, throat, nasopharynx, stomach, liver, colon, lymphoma, myeloma, prostate, bladder and kidney. It also promotes oncology rotations, lectures, observerships and symposia to facilitate knowledge transfer between Baltimore and Singapore, and supports health awareness activities in the local community.