New polyclinic at Jurong West to open in 2017

The polyclinic, to be located next to Jurong West Primary School, at Jurong West Street 61, is expected to see about 272,300 attendances when it starts its operations.
By Sara Grosse, Channel NewsAsia, 29 May 2015

Residents staying in Pioneer and Jurong West can look forward to a new polyclinic in their area in 2017.

The Pioneer Family Healthcare Centre, as its called, will pilot a new care model that will see patients taken care of by regular healthcare teams. The polyclinic is located next to Jurong West Primary School, at Jurong West Street 61.

The centre is expected to see about 272,300 attendances when it starts its operations in 2017 and, by 2030, the clinic may possibly serve 385,000 yearly attendances.

Currently, there is no polyclinic in Jurong West. Residents have to travel to Jurong Polyclinic in Jurong East to access polyclinic services.

"With this polyclinic, we can just easily walk here, less than 5 minutes. Before that we would have to drive 10 to 15 minutes to Jurong East," said Mr Tony Chua, a resident of Jurong West.

The new 7-storey facility is looking into the concept of having patients cared for by a specific healthcare team comprising family physicians, care managers, care coordinators and allied health professionals. The aim is to foster strong relationships between patients and their healthcare teams.

Adjunct Associate Professor Chong Phui-nah, CEO of National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP), explained: "Having certain healthcare teams led by a family physician will be helpful in terms of understanding the patient as a whole, understanding the patient's family history and medical problems will actually give a more holistic approach to the management of the chronic disease of the patient."

The new healthcare centre will also help to take the load off Jurong Polyclinic, which sees between 1,300 and 1,600 patients a day.

"In 2014, we knew that about 50 per cent of the load in Jurong Polyclinic actually comes from the residents in Jurong West," said Dr David Tan, deputy head of Jurong Polyclinic. "So by opening the polyclinic here, we actually do hope most of these residents will follow up at the new Family Healthcare Centre."

The primary care facility is part of of the Health Ministry's Healthcare 2020 Masterplan to meet the needs of a rapidly ageing population.

Community engagement is a key theme in the design of the new polyclinic. It will have dedicated spaces for health promoting and educational activities, such as health talks and workshops. A sky garden at the centre will also offer a healing environment for patients.