13,600 beds to be added to S'pore's healthcare system to meet ageing population needs

The Ministry of Health (MOH) will be expanding public hospitals' capacity by adding about 2,800 more public acute and community hospital beds in the next five years.

This will be part of the additional 13,600 beds to Singapore's healthcare system.

The expansion will take place from now to 2030, said Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung during MOH's Committee of Supply (COS) debate on Mar. 7, 2025.

Expansion of healthcare capacity

There are now more than 12,000 public hospital beds in Singapore, about a 1,000 increase from last year's 11,000.

Here's a look at the additional capacity:

Singapore General Hospital's (SGH) new Emergency/National Neuroscience Institute building, which opened with 80 beds in December 2024, will add 70 beds when fully opened this year.

The new SGH Elective Care Centre will open by 2027, with 300 beds.

Changi General Hospital will be renovated and add 160 beds by 2027.

Sengkang General Hospital will add about 140 beds from 2026.

Woodlands Health will continue to ramp-up their bed capacity, adding close to 400 more beds by 2030.

Alexandra Hospital will be redeveloped and progressively open from 2028, increasing its total bed capacity from 300 to 1,300 by the time it fully opens.

New Eastern General Hospital Campus at Bedok North will progressively open from 2029, and add about 1,400 beds when it fully opens.

St Andrew’s Community Hospital will set up a new community hospital which will have 240 beds, out of which 140 are new Transitional Care Facilities (TCF) beds.

Redevelopment of entire NUH Kent Ridge Campus

The redevelopment of the entire National University Hospital (NUH) Kent Ridge Campus has commenced, and the hospital will replace half of its 1,200 existing beds and add about 100 new beds by 2033.

By 2038, it will replace all its remaining beds and add 200 new beds, bringing its total bed capacity to 1,500.

The hospital redevelopment will progressively replace older structures and improve land use efficiency, on top of increasing hospital capacity.

The redevelopment will also enhance NUH's emergency departments, operating theatres, and specialist outpatient clinics.

13 public acute hospitals and 12 community hospitals in the early 2030s

MOH has also begun planning for the commencement of Tengah General and Community Hospital, a new integrated general and community hospital in the Western region.

The hospital will be operated by the National University of Health System and is targeted to be opened to the public in the early 2030s.

With the addition of the Eastern General Hospital Campus, there will be a total of 13 public acute hospitals and 12 community hospitals in the early 2030s.

Meanwhile, St Andrew's Community Hospital will set up a new community hospital providing rehabilitative and transnational care in Bedok in 2025.

MOH is also on track to expand the number of polyclinics from 26 by the end of 2024 to 32 by 2030.

"Expanding capacity, however, does not mean just building hospitals. We need smart capacity – across a spectrum of care needs. Only then will we be able to give the most appropriate care for different types of patients," Ong added.

Top image via Sengkang General Hospital