Forum: New price-quality way to allot clinic space a bold move
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I applaud the decision by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Housing Board (HDB) to use a new system for allotting clinic space to family physicians ( MOH, HDB to trial tender approach evaluating both price and quality for Bidadari clinic, May
In the past, allocation of clinic rental spaces was by price alone, and the clinic willing to pay the highest rental won the bid.
It was a fair system but, unfortunately, some clinics put in unrealistically high prices to win.
After that, the clinics would then need to ensure they made enough money to pay for their high rent, sometimes at the expense of clinical care and service standards.
The new system prevents this. Clinics would need to lay out a plan for better care and service to win the rental allocation. This is a bold move in the right direction.
Bartley Beacon is a new town under construction, with no tertiary medical support nearby. The nearest polyclinics are also unlikely to have the capacity to take in new patients from nearby new towns.
Hence, the family clinic at Bartley Beacon will have a big role to play in providing medical care to the community.
It was reported that MOH will consider factors such as whether multidisciplinary care will be offered, manpower quality and operating hours.
I would imagine the new family clinic would provide the following services:
three shifts of opening from morning till night;
a GPFirst programme that helps manage mild or non-emergency medical conditions, to avoid unnecessary emergency room visits;
care for all ages, from infant care to geriatric care;
a minor operating theatre to perform operations like suturing and wound care;
structured training and continual professional education for both doctors and nurses; and
partnership with tertiary hospitals to provide teleconsultations with specialists for patients with mobility issues.
With this move, HDB will collect less in rental money, which is indirectly used to subsidise private clinics in providing good clinical care.
Let’s hope the new system works well and this new price-quality model can be expanded to other clinics.
Desmond Wai (Dr)
