Simply increasing beds won’t work for Singapore’s hospitals, say analysts

Hospitals must focus on improving efficiency.

Healthcare in the city-state is slated to undergo radical change over the next two decades, which means simply increasing the number of beds over time isn’t a sustainable model.

According to analysts from OCBC, improving efficiency is one of the key objectives for both public and private hospitals. This means providers are expected to leverage on technology platforms at a faster pace.

“Potentially more public-private partnerships among healthcare providers could be set up as well,” OCBC said.

For instance, OCBC said an overhaul was announed for the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) which will be carried out over the next two decades.

“Notably, two models of care were cited: 1) a Regional Health System to provide care from the hospital to community and home for residents and 2) an integrated system which brings together different specialties in a single facility,” OCBC added.