OPENING ADDRESS BY MR ONG YE KUNG, MINISTER FOR HEALTH, AT THE SINGHEALTH POLYCLNICS 25TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER

Professor Ng Wai Hoe, Group Chief Executive Officer, SingHealth

Dr David Ng, Chief Executive Officer, SingHealth Polyclinics

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

1.           I am happy to join you tonight for SingHealth Polyclinics' (SHP’s) 25th anniversary celebration.  SHP has grown and evolved alongside Singapore’s healthcare system, with many significant achievements. 

Accomplishments of SHP

2.           SHP’s first accomplishment was its capacity growth. 25 years ago, SHP started with seven polyclinics. With healthcare system reorganisation over the years, some of these original polyclinics were reallocated to other public healthcare clusters. In recent years, we opened Eunos polyclinic in June 2022, Tampines North polyclinic in September 2023, and last October, we saw the integration of the Pasir Ris Polyclinic into Pasir Ris Mall. Today, SHP comprises 10 polyclinics, attending to over 9,500 patients every day.

3.           Second, SHP evolved and improved its care model.  Polyclinics have been the first line for basic acute treatment, maternal and child health services.  Today, they have gone beyond reactive treatment, to become community anchors for proactive preventive care and chronic disease management.

4.           SHP has been a key driver of Healthier SG implementation, responsible for enrolling 209,000 residents, assisting them to draw up health plans, undergo regular health screening and vaccinations, and participate in healthy lifestyle activities in the community. Among them, 170,000 are chronic patients under SHP’s active management. 

5.           Third, SHP made tremendous progress in talent development. What started as voluntary postgraduate training was formalised by SHP into comprehensive professional pathways. This has raised the importance and profile of Family Medicine as a practice, which paved the way for its recognition as a specialty. 

6.           SHP has also empowered nurses and pharmacists through Collaborative Prescribing. This has allowed our nurses and pharmacists to take on roles previously performed by doctors, allowing these professionals to practise at the top of their licences and making healthcare professions more attractive career pathways. 

7.           Fourth, SHP leveraged technology to improve healthcare. COVID-19 accelerated SHP’s digital journey.  This enabled video consultations and remote monitoring to leap from experimental to essential.

8.           SHP will be establishing a Telehealth Hub at Eunos Polyclinic, where telehealth will be delivered centrally. At the Telehealth Hub, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and medical social workers will collaborate, share insights, and deliver holistic care to patients. It will also enable healthcare teams to have an overview of telehealth services, which facilitates early intervention.

Building Up Population Health

9.           Our polyclinics network like SHP, together with over 2,000 private General Practitioner clinics, form the primary care system in Singapore. It is the first line of defence against all diseases, the foundation of every healthcare system, and cornerstone of a socially equitable universal healthcare system. 

10.        Recognising its importance, Singapore has built a strong primary care system, of which SHP is a key component. This has provided the foundational ballast for us to implement Healthier SG – preventive care anchored in the community. 

11.        However, unlike curative treatment which produces an immediate impact, preventive care and population health will take years to deliver results. But when they work, the impact will be more profound and enduring.

12.        This is something we have been closely monitoring, including through the annual National Population Health Survey (NPHS). The survey results revealed that things went south during the COVID-19 years.  It has disrupted health screening and physical activities, and exacerbated mental health challenges. 

13.        Post COVID-19, we put population health at the centre of our long-term health strategy, implemented Healthier SG and Age Well SG, and gradually, we are seeing early signs of progress. Our mission is to ensure that these early signs are sustainable and become the beginning of a healthy long-term trend.

14.        In last year’s survey, i.e. the 2023 National Population Health Survey (NPHS), we saw progress in terms of smoking prevalence, health screening and vaccination rates. We did not include objective measured data on the prevalence of chronic illnesses. 

15.        The 2024 NPHS results showed further improvements. Smoking prevalence has continued to fall further, from 10.6% five years ago, to an all-time low of 8.8% in 2023, to an even lower rate of 8.4% in 2024. We are of course tackling another scourge in e-vaporisers now.

16.        Physical activity levels have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, from 84.6% five years ago, to 78.5% in 2023, to 84.7% in the latest survey.

17.        Cancer screening rates for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers fell sharply during the COVID-19 years, and are progressively recovering to pre-COVID levels.

18.        The prevalence of hypertension and diabetes remained stable. Over five years, the prevalence of diabetes dropped slightly from 9.5% to 9.1%; and that for hypertension fell from 35.5% to 33.8%. Prevalence for hyperlipidaemia saw a sharp and encouraging decrease, from 39.1% to 30.5%. We hope that over time, this can translate into fewer strokes and cardiac arrests that we experience every day.  

19.        These are meaningful gains. However small the year-to-year progress is, we must remember strengthening primary care to work with the community and building up population health is a very
long- term effort. We have to work hard to make sure that the arrows are pointing in the right direction all the time.  The very early results reflect the dedicated efforts of our healthcare system.  

20.        However, two emerging trends demand urgent and collective attention – obesity and poor mental health. The NPHS shows that obesity has risen, from 10.5% in 2019-2020 to 12.7% in 2023-2024. The increase is especially marked among younger adults, with rates almost doubling among those aged 18 to 29. This is a worrying sign of how modern lifestyles – busier, more sedentary, and digitally driven – are heightening health risks.

21.        Mental well-being is another growing concern. About 15% of Singapore residents now report poor mental health. Amongst young adults aged 18 to 29, the proportion is higher – at about one in four. More people are now struggling with stress, anxiety and isolation.

Running Multiple Marathons

22.        Building population health is the central thrust of our healthcare strategy. We must however be candid about the road ahead.  It is not a sprint and there are no immediate results.  It is more like running a marathon, in fact, multiple marathons. We just have to keep persevering, and trust that science will prevail, and we can over time avoid or delay debilitating diseases that build up through an accumulation of bad lifestyle choices.

23.        It also requires us to influence the risk factors that are in our homes, community, schools and workplaces, shaping the way we live, work, learn, eat and connect with one another. We have to all work together to make healthy living and mental well-being the natural, easy choices for everyone.  

24.        SHP is a vital component in this effort. You have been around for a quarter of a century, and we can see the difference you have made to our healthcare system and the health of our population. The next decades will be even more vital. 

25.        I congratulate SHP on your silver jubilee. Thank you for your service and unwavering commitment, for building not just better healthcare, but a healthier Singapore for generations to come. I wish you continued success in the years ahead.