Work on the next new general hospital, to be built in the north, has already started, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Sengkang hospitals this morning.
That northern hospital is one of four that will be built between 2020 and 2030. There will also be more community hospitals and nursing homes, he said.
The hospital complex at Sengkang will comprise an 800-bed general hospital, a 400-bed community hospital, and another 200 "swing beds" which could be used by either hospital.
The Sengkang hospital's current chief executive officer, Professor Christopher Cheng, said the hospital complex will allow another 200 beds to be added if the need arises, without incuring further construction costs.
The hospitals will open in phases from Jan 1, 2018 and both will be fully opened by the end of that year.
