Signs, posters at Heart Zone @ Yishun to help people find way to KTPH from MRT station

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Social and Family Development and Education Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, for the launch of the Heart Zone @ Yishun. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

SINGAPORE - Visitors and patients heading to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) will now get more help in finding their way there from Yishun MRT station.

Posters and signage have been put up at Yishun MRT station and at the lobby of KTPH to explain directions towards KTPH and encourage commuters to help those heading to the hospital.

This comes as part of the launch of the Heart Zone @ Yishun on Friday (May 3) by Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Transport Baey Yam Keng.

The zone features a total of six locations where the posters and signage have been put up. These areas include the linkway towards the KTPH shuttle bus pickup point, the pickup point itself and the bus stop outside Northpoint City.

People hoping for more help to and fro to the hospital can also sit at designated areas at both Yishun MRT station and KTPH where they can get directions from passers-by and KTPH staff at the hospital who will offer assistance.

People heading to Yishun Community Hospital, which is located beside KTPH, are also expected to benefit as well.

Mr Baey noted that the launch of the Yishun Heart Zone follows the successful launch of similar initiatives in Outram, Novena and Jurong East.

"Ultimately, to provide a pleasant commuting experience, it is not just about hardware, but it is also about the experience of fellow commuters extending their help to those in need," he said.

KTPH chief executive Chew Kwee Tiang said the zone would help to enhance convenience and safety for its patients, especially for the elderly, frail, or those with limited mobility. The hospital had partnered the Public Transport Council (PTC), Land Transport Authority and SMRT Trains to launch the zone.

It is the fourth hospital to join the Heart Zone initiative, after Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Heart Zones were first introduced in 2017 to create opportunities for commuters to help each other, thereby fostering a caring culture in public transport.

Mr Baey said the PTC is also looking to work with Changi General Hospital and Sengkang General Hospital to implement Heart Zones at their premises and the nearby Simei and Sengkang MRT stations respectively.

He added: "The ideal stage is that we don't need any reminders, that it becomes our way of life to look out for those around us who need help and for those who need help to be comfortable to ask someone nearby for help.

"This should be our way of life, and through these nudges such as the Heart Zone we hope to promote this kind of caring culture within our society."

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