THE new Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) opens its doors at 8.30am tomorrow, with 80 of its 120 specialist outpatient clinics and 365 of its 700 beds - each with its own window.
Its team of 3,000 staff, who had been running Alexandra Hospital which closes its doors today, will all move to the new premises, to run both the general hospital and the adjoining 400-bed Jurong Community Hospital.
Mr Foo Hee Jug, head of JurongHealth, which runs both hospitals, said: "The team has been working hard to thoroughly prepare the hospital to ensure that we care for our patients safely and confidently."
NTFGH's emergency department will start taking in patients from this morning, but only those who turn up at the hospital on their own. These are usually the less serious cases.
Ambulances answering emergencies from patients living or working nearby will continue to take them to other public hospitals such as the National University Hospital (NUH).
It will start taking ambulance cases only from August.
The hospital expects to treat a fair number of industrial accident cases, given the large industrial area nearby, including shipyards and oil refineries.
Ten of its 18 operation theatres will be ready for use from tomorrow. The rest of the beds, clinics and operation theatres will be gradually put into service as demand ramps up in the coming year.
Ms Lee Chiew Lan, the hospital's principal physiotherapist, said: "What was very heartening was seeing the JurongHealth team rallying together, juggling a busy clinical workload at Alexandra Hospital and at the same time, being involved in the preparation work at NTFGH.
"I am excited to see the ideas, innovations and hard work finally coming to fruition. This is the beginning of a new chapter of healthcare in the west and we are happy to be part of it."
