Alexandra Hospital

Last updated
Alexandra Hospital
Hospital Alexandra (Malay)
亚历山大医院 (Chinese)
அலெக்ஸாண்ட்ரா மருத்துவமனை (Tamil)
National University Health System
Alexandra Hospital
Geography
Location378 Alexandra Road, Queenstown, Singapore
Coordinates 1°17′11.2″N103°48′04.4″E / 1.286444°N 103.801222°E / 1.286444; 103.801222
Services
Emergency department 24-Hour Urgent Care Centre
Beds300
Public transit access Queenstown
History
Opened1938;86 years ago (1938) (as British Military Hospital)
Links
Website www.ah.com.sg
Lists Hospitals in Singapore

Alexandra Hospital (AH) is a hospital located in Queenstown, Singapore that provides acute and community care under the National University Health System.

Contents

The hospital's colonial-style buildings were constructed in the late 1930s on 110,000 square metres (1,200,000 sq ft) of land. Under British rule, it was known as the British Military Hospital and was the site of a massacre in February 1942 by the Japanese as they took over Singapore in World War II. After the liberation of Singapore, the hospital was returned to its British administration, before being handed over to the Singapore government on 11 September 1971. Since then, it has gone through four changes of administration, most recently on 1 June 2018, to a team of long-term stewards under the National University Health System.

History

British Military Hospital

Alexandra Hospital and its leafy surroundings, October 2018 Aerial perspective of Alexandra Hospital, Singapore. Taken October 2018.jpg
Alexandra Hospital and its leafy surroundings, October 2018
National Heritage Board's plaque on the grounds of Alexandra Hospital Alexandria Hosp plaque.jpg
National Heritage Board's plaque on the grounds of Alexandra Hospital

Established in 1938 as the British Military Hospital, the facility served as the principal military hospital of the British Far East Command. During the Fall of Singapore in February 1942, it was the scene of a massacre by Japanese soldiers of wounded British servicemembers and medical staff. After World War II, Alexandra Hospital remained as one of the most modern hospitals in Singapore up to the 1970s.

In its heyday, Alexandra Hospital was an institution that adopted cutting-edge medical technology and in 1975 became the first hospital in Southeast Asia to successfully perform limb re-attachment to a patient. [1] Alexandra Hospital also employed several renowned medical experts, including:

Post-independence

Following the gradual downsizing and withdrawal of the British military presence in Singapore, the hospital was handed over to the government of Singapore on 11 September 1971 and renamed Alexandra Road General Hospital. [2] On 1 October 2000, the hospital became a member of the National Healthcare Group and underwent a major upgrade of its facilities.

Restructuring and changes in management

In 2001, plans were made to move to a new hospital in Jurong by 2006. [3] [4] However, in 2004, the plans were scrapped in favour of a move to a new 500-bed hospital in Yishun to be called Northern General Hospital, by 28 March 2009. [5] [6] (This hospital in Yishun is not to be confused with another new hospital planned for the nearby Woodlands, announced in March 2006 on the grounds that Northern General would not be able to serve enough people living in the north. [7] )

On 16 May 2007, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, while attending the HIMSS AsiaPac 2007 conference, announced that the name of the new general hospital in Yishun was to be Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH). [8] The family of late Mr Khoo Teck Puat had donated S$125 million for hospital construction and funding. The new hospital was to be different from other hospitals as it promises to put patients first and aims to minimise bureaucracy and paperwork. It was initially planned for Alexandra Hospital to be closed after KTPH was opened, but after August 2010, the hospital was kept in operation and transferred to Jurong Health after August 2010.

On 8 September 2012, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that the hospital will remain in operation at least until 2018, but the team slated to run the Sengkang General and Community Hospitals will take over the facilities after the opening of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in 2014–2015. A decision on the future of the hospital will be made nearer to 2018, said the Health Minister. Previously, Sengkang Health took over from JurongHealth ceased operations at Alexandra Hospital to prepare for the opening of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

On 26 January 2015, with the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital opening in July 2015, Alexandra Hospital was to be closed for maintenance and renovation. Specialist Outpatient Clinics Services continued to operate at AH until its move to NTFGH. Alexandra Hospital was to be taken over by Sengkang Health and reopened in phases by the third quarter of 2015. [9] JurongHealth ceased operations at Alexandra Hospital (AH) at 5.30 pm on 29 June 2015 to prepare for the opening of NTFGH the next day. This was to include the hospital's Specialist Outpatient Clinics and Emergency Department. [10] Sengkang Health reopened the hospital in phases, with its Specialist Outpatient Clinics, operating theatres and other medical facilities becoming operational in 2016.

After Sengkang Health moved out of the premises, the National University Health System (NUHS) took over the hospital on 1 June 2018. [11]

Since its takeover by the NUHS, the hospital provides care under a single continuum, from acute, sub-acute, to rehabilitative care. Through five key programmes (preventive care, urgent and acute care, long-term chronic care, elder care, and palliative care), care is provided to each patient by a team led by one principal doctor. This model of health and care is defined by elements abbreviated as OOOOOH (One patient, One bed, One care team, One principal doctor, One with the community, Healthcare redesign).

[12]

Future developments

Alexandra Hospital will be redeveloped into an integrated health campus by 2030, in view of the rising demand in health and medical services set to increase, as the population intensifies in the southwestern region of Singapore, and will be first public hospital redeveloped after the COVID-19 pandemic. [13]

The future hospital is planned to be pandemic-ready, green and sustainable, with phygital (seamlessly-integrated physical and digital) care, new roles for nurses and caregivers, under a resource-efficient Integrated General Hospital (IGH) model: "One patient, One bed, One care team, One principal doctor, One with the community, Healthcare" (OOOOOH). It will also incorporate six peaks of excellence in areas such as Integrated Care, Geriatric Medicine, Supportive and Palliative Care Medicine, Rehabilitative Medicine, Psychological Medicine, Ambulatory Surgery. [14] Psychiatric services will also be set up, with inpatient wards to cater for acute and sub-acute psychiatric care and rehabilitation, as well as services on medical psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and psychogeriatrics. [15]

In 2023, Alexandra established the Centre for Healthy Longevity (CHL), a longevity medicine center focused on maintaining individuals as close as possible to optimal performance across the lifespan by targeting biological aging as the greatest driver of diseases of aging. [16] With a S$5 million gift from the Lien Foundation, the Center will conduct clinical trials and care for patients using nutrition, exercise, dietary supplements and repurposed drugs. [16] Complementing the geroscience basic research at National University Health System led by Dr. Brian K. Kennedy, the Center's mission is to increase the Singapore population's healthspan by five years by slowing biological aging. [16]

Alexandra Hospital will form part of a future Health District in Queenstown [17] and with an increased clinical capacity, support the Healthier SG initiative. [18] Details of this plan were further revealed when the hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony for its redevelopment on 15 May 2024, [19] where it was announced that new inpatient and outpatient blocks would be built, and the hospital would open progressively from 2028 onwards.


Services

Urgent Care Centre

The Urgent Care Centre is a 24-hour clinic that provides immediate medical attention to walk-in patients with acute and urgent medical conditions, as well as those admitted to Alexandra Hospital via private ambulance. For patients requiring more than basic care, blood and radiological tests and further treatment are administered under the care of a single holistic care team.

Community Care Coordination Unit (C3U) @ AH

The Community Care Coordination Unit (C3U) @ AH is a multidisciplinary team that bring together healthcare teams and care managers to work with patients, families, and community partners for early clinical and social interventions.

Specialties

MedicalSurgicalAllied health
  • Internal medicine
  • Family medicine
  • Cardiology
  • Endocrinology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Geriatric medicine
  • Gynaecology
  • Nephrology
  • Neurology
  • Psychiatry
  • Rehabilitation medicine
  • Respiratory medicine
  • Rheumatology
  • Orthopaedic surgery
  • General surgery
  • Otolaryngology
  • Ophthalmology
  • Anaesthesia
  • Physiotherapy
  • Speech therapy
  • Occupational therapy
  • Podiatry
  • Dietetics
  • Diagnostic imaging
  • Care and counselling

Gardens

A 20 hectare medicinal garden was opened at AH on 30 July 2005. [20] The garden was based on a book by Singaporean botanist Wee Yeow Chin and took three months to plant the garden. [21] The garden is part of providing a healing environment for patients and visitors. [20]

Alexandra Hospital gardens Alex Hosp gardens.jpg
Alexandra Hospital gardens

Gardens surrounding the hospital are home to over 500 plant species and 100 butterfly species in the butterfly trail. Members of nature societies have used the hospital gardens as a study ground. The gardens were upgraded in 2000 under the direction of Rosalind Tan, senior executive at the hospital's operations department. [22]

On 6 November 2019, a Therapeutic Horticulture Programme was started in the gardens to provide occupational therapy to patients. [23]

A commemorative plaque in the gardens honours the hundreds of hospitalized soldiers and staff massacred by Japanese forces in 1942.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yishun</span> Planning Area and HDB Town in North Region, Singapore

Yishun, formerly known as Nee Soon, is a residential town located in the northeastern corner of the North Region of Singapore, bordering Simpang and Sembawang to the north, Mandai to the west, the Central Water Catchment to its southwest, Ang Mo Kio to its south, as well as Seletar and Sengkang to its east and southeast respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khoo Teck Puat</span> Malaysian politician

Tan Sri Khoo Teck Puat was a banker and hotel owner, who, with an estimated fortune of S$4.3 billion (US$3,195,953,500), was the wealthiest man in Singapore at one point. He owned the Goodwood Group of boutique hotels in London and Singapore and was the largest single shareholder of the British bank Standard Chartered. The bulk of his fortune came from shares in Standard Chartered, which he bought up in the 1980s to help thwart Lloyds Bank's proposed acquisition which many financiers deemed hostile. The Goodwood Park Hotel in Singapore, built in 1900, is a restored historic landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tan Tock Seng Hospital</span> Hospital in Singapore

Tan Tock Seng Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital in Singapore, located in Novena. The hospital has 45 clinical and allied health departments, 16 specialist centres and is powered by more than 8,000 healthcare staff. Tan Tock Seng Hospital is Singapore's second-largest acute care general hospital with over 1,500 beds. TTSH has the busiest trauma centre in the country; 100 trauma cases are seen every day and 100 trauma surgeries are performed daily.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National University Hospital</span> Hospital in Singapore , Singapore

The National University Hospital (NUH) is a tertiary referral hospital and academic medical centre in Singapore, located in Kent Ridge. It is a 1,160-bed tertiary hospital serving more than 670,000 outpatients and 49,000 inpatients and serves as a clinical training centre and research centre for the medical and dental faculties of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SingHealth</span> Group of healthcare institutions in Singapore

Singapore Health Services, commonly known as SingHealth, is the largest group of healthcare institutions in Singapore. Established in 2000, the group consists of four public hospitals, three community hospitals, five national specialty centres and a network of eight polyclinics. The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is the largest hospital in the group and serves as the flagship hospital for the cluster.

Ng Teng Fong was a Singaporean real estate tycoon with a major presence in Hong Kong. He is the father of Robert Ng. In 1997, Forbes listed the two as the 30th richest people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Healthcare Group</span> Singapore group of healthcare institutions

The National Healthcare Group (NHG) is a group of healthcare institutions located in Singapore. The group was formed in 2000 and operates several hospitals, national specialty centers and polyclinics. Tan Tock Seng Hospital is the largest hospital in the group and serves as the flagship hospital for the cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khoo Teck Puat Hospital</span> Hospital in Singapore

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital is a 795-bed general and acute care hospital located at Yishun in Singapore. Named after Singaporean hotelier, Khoo Teck Puat, the hospital is part of an integrated development together with the adjoining Yishun Community Hospital. The hospital was officially opened by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew on 15 November 2010, but began seeing outpatients and day surgery patients on 28 March that year. Spanning over 3.5 hectares in the Yishun Central Area overlooking the scenic Yishun Pond. The hospital offers an extensive range of medical services and healthcare options for residents living in the north. As of October 2017, KTPH merged with the National Healthcare Group and is now known as Yishun Health, together with Yishun Community Hospital and Admiralty Medical Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Singapore</span>

Healthcare in Singapore is under the purview of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Singapore. It mainly consists of a government-run publicly funded universal healthcare system as well as a significant private healthcare sector. Financing of healthcare costs is done through a mixture of direct government subsidies, compulsory comprehensive savings, national healthcare insurance, and cost-sharing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Luke's Hospital, Singapore</span> Hospital in Singapore

St. Luke's Hospital is a community hospital in Singapore that provides professional healthcare services. It was named after the patron saint of the medical profession, St Luke. St Luke's Hospital for the Elderly Sick was registered as a voluntary welfare organization in the Registry of Societies in October 1991. It was renamed to St Luke's Hospital in September 2004 to signify the hospital's role as a community hospital while retaining its focus on geriatric care. The idea of setting up community hospital was first mooted by a group of Christian doctors and nurses after a report from the Advisory Council on the Aged in 1988 raised important issues concerning the lack of adequate elderly care facilities in Singapore. A projection of the number of facilities and resources needed to provide adequate healthcare services to Singapore's aging population in 2030 revealed serious shortfalls. In response to the problem of inadequate healthcare facilities for the elderly, a group of 8 churches and Christian organizations including the Graduate Christian Fellowship and the Singapore Nurses' Christian Fellowship came together to set up St Luke's Hospital for the Elderly Sick. St Luke's Hospital is headed by a board of directors and various committees that oversee the daily operations of the hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National University Health System</span>

The National University Health System (NUHS) is a group of healthcare institutions in Singapore. The group was formed in 2008 and operates several hospitals, national specialty centres, and polyclinics. The National University Hospital is the largest hospital in the group and serves as the flagship hospital for the cluster.

CPG Corporation is an infrastructure, building management, and consultancy services company in the Asia Pacific.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke–NUS Medical School</span>

The Duke–NUS Medical School (Duke–NUS) is a graduate medical school in Singapore. The school was set up in April 2005 as the Duke–NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore's second medical school, after the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, and before the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. It is a collaboration between Duke University in the United States and the National University of Singapore in Singapore. Duke-NUS follows the American model of post-baccalaureate medical education, in which students begin their medical studies after earning a bachelor's degree. Students are awarded degrees from both Duke University and the National University of Singapore.

Yuhua is a subzone region located in the town of Jurong East, Singapore. Yuhua comprises two subzones, Yuhua East and Yuhua West. The area's HDB flats are under the management of Jurong-Clementi Town Council and the people of this precinct are represented in parliament by either Grace Fu or Rahayu Mahzam, depending on where they stay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ng Teng Fong General Hospital</span> Hospital in Jurong East Street , Singapore

Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) is a 700-bed hospital located in Jurong East, Singapore. Named after Singaporean late entrepreneur, Ng Teng Fong, the hospital is part of an integrated development together with the adjoining Jurong Community Hospital. It began operations on 30 June 2015 after JurongHealth's move from Alexandra Hospital and was officially opened on 10 October that year.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in the Republic of Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jurong Community Hospital</span> Hospital in Singapore , Singapore

The Jurong Community Hospital (JCH) is a 400-bed community hospital in Jurong East, Singapore. It is part of an integrated healthcare development that includes the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH). While Jurong Community Hospital has commenced operations from 22 July 2015, it was officially opened alongside NTFGH on 10 October of the same year.

Yishun Pond Park is an urban park located at Yishun, Singapore. It is situated along Yishun Central in front of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and connects the residential areas to Yishun MRT station and Northpoint Shopping Centre.

The Yishun Community Hospital is a 428-bed community hospital in Yishun, Singapore. It is part of an integrated healthcare development that includes the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

References

  1. "About Us: Our Heritage". Alexandra Hospital. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  2. "About Us: Our Heritage". Alexandra Hospital. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  3. "ADDENDA TO PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AT THE OPENING OF THE FIRST SESSION OF THE TENTH PARLIAMENT".
  4. "Khoo Teck Puat (AH @ Yishun / Sembawang / Northern General), Woodlands and Jurong Hospital". www.geraldtan.com.
  5. "Violations". www.ah.com.sg. Archived from the original on May 16, 2006.
  6. Straits Times, 23 March 2004, 400-bed hospital for the north in Yishun Central
  7. Straits Times, 27 March 2006, New general hospital to be built in Woodlands
  8. Yahoo News Singapore, 17 May 2007, New hospital in Yishun named Khoo Teck Puat Hospital Archived May 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. Channel News Asia, 26 January 2015, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital to start operations by July this year Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Channel News Asia, 26 January 2015, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital to open on Jun 30
  11. MOH Office for Healthcare Transformation, 14 December 2018
  12. Alexandra Hospital
  13. TODAY, 5 March 2020
  14. Ministry of Health, 12 August 2022
  15. Ministry of Health, 9 March 2022
  16. 1 2 3 "Prolonging healthspan by delaying ageing: NUHS opens Singapore's first Centre for Healthy Longevity to increase healthy lifespan of Singapore population by five more disease-free years" (PDF). National University Health System . Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  17. CNA, 20 October 2022
  18. The Straits Times, 11 Oct 2022
  19. The Straits Times, 15 May 2024
  20. 1 2 Perry, Margaret (30 July 2005). "Alexandra Hospital opens new garden of medicinal plants". Channel NewsAsia .
  21. Perry, Margaret (16 October 2005). "Alexandra Hospital garden has plants that heal, thrill or kill". Channel NewsAsia .
  22. Mulchand, Arti (15 June 2007). "No botanist but she creates green spaces in hospitals". The Straits Times .
  23. "The gardens at Alexandra Hospital that helped two women regain their mental and physical strength". TODAY. Retrieved 2022-12-22.