MEDICAL OFFICERS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS

14 May 2013

Question No. 1164

Name of Person: Mr Yee Jenn Jong

Question

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the current number of medical officers in our public and private healthcare institutions respectively who are on (i) full registration (ii) conditional registration and (iii) temporary registration; and (b) how many of the medical officers currently on temporary registration, whose primary qualifications are not recognised in Singapore, have practised here beyond their initial two-year contract.

Answer 

As at 31 December 2012, there were 10,225 doctors registered with the Singapore Medical Council.  60%, or 6,131, worked in the public sector, and 34%, or 3,515, worked in the private sector.  The remaining doctors were not professionally active.

In the public sector, 72% were on Full Registration, 23% were on Conditional Registration, and 5% were on Temporary Registration^[1].  In the private sector, 97% were on Full Registration, 3% were on Conditional Registration, and less than 1% was on Temporary Registration.  There is a larger proportion of doctors on Conditional and Temporary Registrations in our restructured hospitals as training, supervision and education is part of their work.

There are currently 308 doctors on Temporary Registration brought in primarily for service provision, which make up 3% of our medical workforce.  These doctors do not have the recognised basic medical qualifications listed in the Second Schedule of the Medical Registration Act.    However they have relevant experience in specific fields and specialties, and are recruited to temporarily meet the clinical service needs in our healthcare institutions.  They work with other doctors to provide general clinical services and patient care, and assist senior doctors in meeting the medical needs of patients, particularly in departments facing tight workloads such as the Emergency Medicine, and Geriatric Medicine departments.   There are regulations and measures in place to ensure that these doctors are properly supervised, and work only in the departments where their clinical experience is relevant. Their performance is also closely monitored to ensure that the doctors meet Singapore’s standards and are adapting well to local practice.

In 2012, 38% of the doctors on Temporary Registration for service provision had been given extension and had practised in Singapore beyond their initial two-year license.  These doctors need to demonstrate good performance and be recommended by their departments to enroll into training programmes in order to renew their licenses beyond the initial two years.  Further extension will be contingent upon the doctor being accepted into a specialist traineeship by the fourth year of their Temporary Registration.  In 2012, the Temporary Registrations of 66 doctors were not extended.

^[1] This refers to doctors on Temporary (Service) Registration, who are brought in primarily for service provision.