Adequacy of Healthcare Professionals with Three Medical Schools Fully Established
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns meeting healthcare manpower needs and the population-to-doctor ratio as raised by Prof Fatimah Lateef. In line with the Healthcare 2020 Masterplan, Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong stated that local medical intake increased by 40% between 2012 and 2018 to build a strong local core. Supported by three established medical schools and overseas-trained doctors, Singapore's doctor-to-population ratio rose from 1.9 in 2012 to 2.4 in 2017. Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong noted this ratio is higher than Hong Kong’s and comparable to Japan’s, yet remains lower than the US and UK. Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong cautioned that such comparisons must account for differences in national contexts, healthcare models, and operating environments.
Transcript
43 Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Health with our three medical schools now fully established and stabilised (a) how is Singapore meeting our needs for healthcare professionals; and (b) how is our population-to-doctor ratio doing compared to the last five years.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Ministry of Health regularly reviews our healthcare manpower needs taking into account population demographics and disease trends. We aim to build a strong local core of doctors to meet Singapore’s healthcare needs.
In line with the Healthcare 2020 Masterplan, we increased our local medical intakes through the expansion of NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and Duke-NUS Medical School, and the establishment of NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in 2013. Between 2012 and 2018, the total local medical intake increased by about 40%, from 354 to 500.
The annual output of about 500 medical graduates from our local medical schools will contribute towards building a strong local core of doctors in our healthcare workforce. This will be supplemented by overseas-trained doctors, including Singaporeans returning to join our healthcare family.
In Singapore, we had about 2.4 doctors per 1,000 population in 2017, a significant increase from 1.9 in 2012. Our ratio is higher than Hong Kong and Taiwan; comparable to those in South Korea and Japan; and lower than US and UK.
We need to be cautious when comparing these ratios across healthcare systems and be mindful of the differences in healthcare models, operating environments, and national contexts.