History
In 2001, plans were announced that a new hospital, the Jurong General Hospital, will be built and will replace the current Alexandra Hospital. The hospital was slated to be completed by 2006. However, in 2004, the plan was scrapped. Instead, the next new public hospital will be built in the north at Yishun and be completed by 28 March 2010. [2]
On 28 November 2006, Alexandra Hospital marked the first milestone for its new hospital with a groundbreaking ceremony at the new hospital site. The guest-of-honor was then-Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan. An exhibition titled "Metamorphosis: From Old to New" was held at the same time, showcasing photographs depicting the transformation of the existing hospital building in Alexandra Road from pre- and post-independence years to the present times. 3-dimensional models and perspectives of the new hospital building were also on display.
On 16 May 2007, then-Health Minister Khaw, while attending the HIMSS AsiaPac 2007 conference, announced that the new general hospital in Yishun has been named Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. [3] [4] In acknowledgement of the S$125 million donation made by the late hotelier Khoo Teck Puat's family towards building and funding of the hospital, the hospital was named after him instead of the previously planned name, Alexandra Hospital @ Yishun. [3]
On 30 September 2007, then-Health Minister Khaw, at a community event in Yishun, noted that additional land parcels set aside around the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital could be used for construction of further, more specialised health-care facilities and that beyond 2020, might eventually create a health-care cluster similar to the diverse facilities now in the vicinity of Singapore General Hospital, providing high-quality healthcare services to the growing population in the north. Possible inclusions in the cluster are a community hospital and medical-tourist hotels. [5]
The hospital's specialist outpatient clinics and day surgery operating theatres opened on 29 March 2010. [6] The initial timeline was delayed by about three months because of the Indonesian sand ban and disruption to granite supplies. This forced contractors to bring in more equipment and workers to make up for the time lost. [7]
The facility's inpatient wards and acute care and emergency department began operation on 28 June 2010.
Design
The Khoo Teck Puat Hospital was designed by CPG Consultants [8] in collaboration with RMJM to be patient-friendly. The 10-bedded "C"-class wards is divided into two sections, each with its own toilet and shower facilities. There is only one drop-off point for the hospital and it is 20 metres to the emergency department and also between 20 and 40 metres to the specialist clinics.
Wards are designed so that there are no protruding sinks or cupboards to prevent patients hurting themselves. [9]
The hospital also incorporates environmentally friendly features. The building uses 30% less energy than other hospitals [10] leading to a savings of more than S$1 million a year on utilities costs. [9]
"Fins" along the building's walls are designed to channel the prevailing north-east winds into the building. Wind tunnel tests conducted at the National University of Singapore found that the "fins" would enhance the air flow by 20 to 30%. [11] Sun shades are placed over the windows to reduce direct glare from sunlight and also directed upwards towards the ceiling to light up the wards. [9] This reduces energy use on lighting up the hospital. [9] Solar panels on the roof provide power to fans in the public areas. [9] The air-conditioning system draws supply air from its internal courtyards, where the air is cooler, hence reducing the cooling loads.
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.
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.
Khaw Boon Wan is a Malaysian-born Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Transport between 2015 and 2020, Minister for National Development between 2011 and 2015, and Minister for Health between 2003 and 2011. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he was the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Moulmein division of Tanjong Pagar GRC between 2001 and 2006, and the Sembawang division of Sembawang GRC between 2006 and 2020.
The following lists events that happened during 2004 in Singapore.
In the 2005 dengue outbreak in Singapore, a significant rise in the number of dengue fever cases was reported in Singapore, becoming the country's worst health crisis since the 2003 SARS epidemic. In October 2005, there were signs that the dengue fever outbreak had peaked, as the number of weekly cases had declined and the outbreak of this infectious disease declined by the end of 2005.
Alexandra Hospital (AH) is a hospital located in Queenstown, Singapore that provides acute and community care under the National University Health System.
The National Healthcare Group (NHG) is a group of healthcare institutions 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.
The following lists events that happened during 2008 in the Republic of Singapore.
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.
The following lists events that happened during 2009 in the Republic 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.
In the 2013 dengue outbreak in Singapore, a significant rise in the number of dengue fever cases was reported in Singapore. The outbreak began in January, with the number of infections beginning to surge in April, before eventually reaching a peak of 842 dengue cases in the week of 16–22 June 2013. This figure was far beyond the highest number of cases per week in the previous three years. Although there were concerns that the rate of infection could exceed 1,000 per week, these fears did not materialize.
Assisi Hospice is a hospice in Singapore which provides palliative care to terminally ill patients.
The following lists events that happened during 2015 in the Republic of Singapore.
The Arms Offences Act 1973 is a statute of the Parliament of Singapore that criminalizes the illegal possession of arms and ammunition and the carrying, trafficking, and usage of arms. The law is designed specifically to make acts of ownership, knowingly receiving payment in connection with the trade of a trafficked armaments and ammunition, as well as the unlawful usage of arms and ammunition a criminal offence.
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.
Amin Nasir was a Singaporean football player and manager. He played as a defender for sides including Sembawang Rangers and Woodlands Wellington. He managed the S.League side Hougang United from 2013 to 2014. He also represented the Singapore national football team and was awarded a bronze medal at the 1993 Southeast Asian Games. His brother, Nazri, captained the Singapore national team from 1997 to 2003.
Kampung Admiralty is Singapore's first integrated retirement community project by Housing and Development Board. It was designed by WOHA.
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.
On 20 June 2015, 23-year-old Muhammad Iskandar bin Sa'at, a former deliveryman who was then in police custody for vehicle theft, was brought to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital for treatment of his chest pain. While he was at the hospital, Iskandar attempted to escape by assaulting a police officer, Staff Sergeant (SSGT) Muhammad Sadli bin Razali, and even snatched the policeman's revolver and fired three live rounds at the officer, who was injured but survived. Iskandar, who failed to escape, was subsequently arrested and charged with discharging a firearm, an offence that carried the mandatory death penalty under the Arms Offences Act. Later, Iskandar's charge was reduced to possession of a firearm with intent to cause harm, and after he pleaded guilty, Iskandar was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence and 18 strokes of the cane in March 2018.
