Ren Ci Hospital & Medicare Centre Collaborates With MOH

06 Aug 2008

The Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ren Ci Hospital and Medicare Centre (Ren Ci) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate in the running of Ren Ci’s new Community Hospital. The MOU, signed on 23rd July 2008, is part of MOH’s ongoing efforts to promote better integration of care across the public restructured hospitals and the intermediate and long-term care sector in Singapore. The partnership will also ensure that Ren Ci Community Hospital starts off on a firm footing and be well-placed to offer good and holistic care to its patients.  

The focus of the collaboration will mainly be between Ren Ci Community Hospital and the adjacent Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). TTSH and Ren Ci will jointly develop clinical governance standards and establish work flow processes to achieve holistic patient care, and enable the seamless transfer of patients between the two hospitals. TTSH will also support Ren Ci Community Hospital’s operations through sharing its pool of professionals and administrators, and opening up training opportunities and skills upgrading of healthcare professionals. In addition to the initial capital grant of about $21 million for the new Ren Ci community hospital, MOH has agreed to Ren Ci’s request for up to $9.3 million more in funding to cover the increase in construction costs.

The Ren Ci Community Hospital, when operational by end 2008, will provide rehabilitation and subacute care for patients who still require a period of inpatient stay in a step-down setting before returning home. The collaboration between Ren Ci and MOH will put in place systematic frameworks and processes to ensure patient safety and enhance the standard of clinical care for patients referred to Ren Ci Community Hospital from TTSH. This is in line with MOH’s objective of ensuring that Singaporeans have access to good and affordable healthcare that is appropriate to their needs.

At the request of the Ren Ci Board, MOH will be seconding Dr Wong Yue Sie, Chairman, Division of Ambulatory and Clinical Support Services, Singapore General Hospital, as the new interim CEO of Ren Ci, and Mr James Toi, currently Chief Operating Officer of the National Heart Centre, as the new Deputy CEO of Ren Ci. Mr James Toi will assume the CEO post upon the completion of Dr Wong’s secondment term. The appointment of the new CEO and Deputy CEO, and the collaboration with MOH in running a new community hospital puts Ren Ci in good stead in delivering quality medical and nursing care for the sick and needy.

MINISTRY OF HEALTH

6 AUGUST 2008