Singapore’s largest polyclinic opens near Serangoon MRT station

SINGAPORE - Serangoon Polyclinic, the largest polyclinic in Singapore, opened its doors on Nov 29 with a new care model that has a healthcare team looking after patients from the same family and a more structured approach to assess and treat frailty.

It will also be the first NHG Health polyclinic to include oral health in its approach to manage frailty for patients aged 65 and above.

The polyclinic is designed to serve the growing population of seniors in Serangoon, where about one in five residents is aged 65 and above.

Located across Serangoon Central from Nex shopping mall and Serangoon MRT station, the seven-storey, 11,600 sq m facility expects to see around 1,300 patients each day, said Dr Liu Changwei, family physician, consultant and head of Serangoon Polyclinic.

Advanced practice nurses will identify patients at risk of oral complications and refer them to the polyclinic’s new dental clinic. Those with more complex needs will be referred to specialised dental care.

At Serangoon Polyclinic, family members can be cared for by the same team, to improve the continuity of care for families with chronic conditions such as asthma and obesity.

This “family empanelment” care model

builds on “teamlet care”,

where patients see the same team of doctors, nurses and allied healthcare professionals each time they are at the polyclinic.

For example, children aged between six and 18 with mild to moderate asthma will be placed in the same care team as their parents with chronic conditions. The team can advise on how the lifestyle of family members, such as smoking, affects the child’s asthma.

With the opening of Serangoon Polyclinic, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that Singapore is on track to have 32 polyclinics by 2030. There are now 27 polyclinics across the island.

“Each new polyclinic is a significant step in further strengthening primary care, which is key to maintaining and managing population health as our country ages.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony, he said that people now visit polyclinics for a wide range of reasons, including getting health screenings, managing chronic conditions, ensuring infants are taken good care of, or for mental health services.

“Today, polyclinics are not just healthcare institutions, but community nodes to advance the well-being of residents.”

He said polyclinics today manage over seven million visits a year, using an appointment-booking system to minimise waiting times.

Addressing concerns that those unfamiliar with the online booking system will be disadvantaged, he said that polyclinics accept walk-ins. Patients who walk in after slots are taken up, especially the very young and old, will be triaged and assessed, and those urgent needs will be seen as quickly as possible.

Together, polyclinics and general practitioners form a “very strong complementary system”, he added, providing patients with more flexibility to manage their medical conditions when needs arise.

Serangoon resident Lee Hui Ling, 61, said she will be able to visit the polyclinic together with her 90-year-old mother Yang Mei Yun in a single trip.

Ms Lee, a teacher, currently takes her mother to Hougang Polyclinic every four to six months for check-ups. Madam Yang, who has osteoporosis and uses a wheelchair, suffered a stroke in April.

Ms Lee, who lives with her mother, visits Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic herself about twice a year to do mammogram screenings and blood tests.

“My hope would be that even after retirement, I can still visit (Serangoon) polyclinic to continue my check-ups,” she said.

Alongside the facility, there is an expanded dialysis centre planned for February 2027, which will have 30 dialysis stations, supporting 180 end-stage renal failure patients.

Like other polyclinics, Serangoon Polyclinic provides treatment for acute conditions, chronic disease management, childhood developmental assessment and immunisation, women’s cancer screening, health education and disease prevention.

Dietetics, psychology and diagnostic services are also available here.

The frailty management framework by NHG Health Polyclinics addresses the challenges of frailty, falls and osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones.

For elderly patients with mild and moderate frailty, a team of family physicians, care coordinators, nurses and dentists will manage their conditions holistically. Some interventions include the tapering off or stopping of medication, fall prevention, home modification and exercise recommendations.

Suitable patients will also be referred to day rehabilitation centres operated by community partners for rehabilitation support.

To get elderly patients engaged in activities, they will be connected to nearby active ageing centres (AAC), including NTUC Health AAC (Serangoon Central) and the upcoming HNF-PCF Sparkle Care-operated AAC (Care), which will be located in the same building as the polyclinic.

Serangoon Polyclinic will use an artificial intelligence system to manage vaccinations. The system provides real-time updates on storage temperatures, tracks vaccine inventory and expiry dates, and uses predictive analytics for stock planning.

The polyclinic will also pilot HealthVector Diabetes, a clinical analysis software that can estimate a patient’s three-year risk of developing chronic kidney disease stage 3A – where there is a mild to moderate loss of kidney function – and beyond. This is part of NHG Polyclinics’ one-year trial of the software, which started in July.