Polyclinic to feature enhanced care teams

THE new Pioneer Family Healthcare Centre in Jurong West will feature an enhanced care team model, the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP) announced at a ground-breaking ceremony yesterday.

In breaking with conventional modes of treatment, a patient and his family will be cared for by a team of family physicians and other allied healthcare professionals on a regular basis. At other clinics, it is a different team each time a patient is seen.

"With the benefit of stronger relationships between patients and their care teams, there can be more effective disease prevention, health promotion and patient empowerment," said Dr David Tan, who will head the centre.

The enhanced care team model will help doctors to better understand their patients' medical history and even family environment to aid patients holistically.

In time, other polyclinics may work on the same model.

Now, Jurong West lacks its own polyclinic and residents have to travel to Jurong Polyclinic in Jurong East, several kilometres away. The new polyclinic will be located a stone's throw from Pioneer MRT station. It is hoped that it will ease the volume of patients at Jurong Polyclinic.

National Healthcare Group chairman Kay Kuok said: "With its proximity to public transport services, it will offer convenience to residents in the area."

The seven-storey polyclinic has a floor plan of 7,750 sq m and will be NHGP's 10th polyclinic to date. It will feature universal barrier-free designs to meet the needs of the elderly, people with disabilities and young families.

Other features, such as indoor communal spaces, a cafe and a sky garden, aim to promote health beyond the clinic walls.

It will see an estimated 272,400 patients a year when it starts operations in 2017. By 2030, this number is expected to rise to 385,000 a year.

This article was first published on May 30, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.