Class C Beds For Every Medical Condition

08 Sep 2001

All public sector hospitals now provide Class C beds for the full range of medical conditions. This is part of the Ministry of Health's ongoing efforts to review our policies to ensure the affordability of healthcare.

Class C beds are available in every public sector hospital to provide affordable healthcare to lower income Singaporeans. However, the number of patients seen in a year could be small for the more specialised conditions in some hospitals. For instance, NUH saw only 294 inpatient cases for Plastic Surgery in Year 2000. SGH saw only 322 inpatient cases for Burns. For these conditions, there is no need to provide dedicated Class C wards as beds would have to be left vacant most of the time when there is no demand.

The previous practice in these hospitals had been to have patients of the same condition share the same B2 ward. Patients who were assessed by Medical Social Workers to be in financial need would be charged Class C rates.

As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the affordability of healthcare, the Ministry has asked that public sector hospitals provide Class C beds for all medical conditions. Singaporeans now have the choice of Class C beds even if their medical condition is very specialised. Public sector hospitals have restructured their work processes to allow patients of different conditions to share the same Class C ward, if necessary.

Today, 27% of beds in our public sector hospitals are Class C. There are sufficient Class C beds to meet the needs of lower income Singaporeans. The proportion is higher in the regional general hospitals which provide general and broad-based medical services to all Singaporeans than the tertiary hospitals which provide more specialised care. . In Changi General Hospital, 42% are Class C beds. In Tan Tock Seng Hospital it is 44% and in Alexandra Hospital it is 66%. The two tertiary hospitals, Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital, have 12% and 8% Class C beds respectively.

Demand for beds fluctuate. Even if Class C beds were not available for any particular day in our hospitals, patients would be lodged in a higher ward class but they need only pay the lower Class C charges should theirs be an emergency case.

The Ministry of Health would ensure adequate supply of Class C beds to meet the needs of lower income Singaporeans. Singaporeans should choose their ward classes wisely based on what they could afford so that they could better stretch their health dollar.