Average Waiting Time for New Appointments at Specialist Outpatient Clinics at Public Hospitals

20 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for Health in each year since 2013, what is the average waiting time for new appointments at Specialist Outpatient Clinics at the public hospitals.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOC) waiting times for new appointments vary across hospitals and across specialties within each hospital. The median waiting time for new, non-urgent subsidised appointments at Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOCs) has fallen slightly from 29 days in 2013 to 27 days in the first quarter of 2017, despite an increasing patient load across all hospitals (see Table 1 below). Patients with more urgent conditions, such as suspected cancers and cardiac conditions, are fast-tracked for their appointments.