A dialysis clinic is to be set up at a community club (CC) for the first time in Singapore.

The Seck Hong Choon-NKF Dialysis Centre, to be housed at the upgraded Toa Payoh West CC by 2020, will have at least 20 dialysis machines.

The centre is a collaboration between the People's Association, Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery and the National Kidney Foundation (NKF), which signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday.

The monastery presented NKF with a $1.4 million donation to set up the centre. It will be matched by a government grant to cover the costs of renovation and equipment.

As Singapore's elderly population is growing rapidly - alongside increasing rates of diabetes, hypertension and obesity - the number of kidney patients here looks set to rise.

Minister of State for Health and Communications & Information Chee Hong Tat, who attended the signing ceremony yesterday, said: "We must expect that the number of people in Singapore who will get diabetes and who will suffer from complications will increase.

"Bishan-Toa Payoh is an ageing estate. We have a lot of seniors here, and for many of them who need dialysis services, we do have existing services in Toa Payoh Lorong 8.

"We do need to provide for the future and ensure that we have sufficient capacity to meet the needs of our residents."

NKF currently supports more than 4,000 patients at its 31 dialysis centres islandwide, which are operating at almost full capacity.

Rahimah Rashith