Singapore - Singapore`s Health Minister lauded the 2008 Government Budget for giving the health sector a 19-percent increase in allocation.
Khaw Boon Wan said the Finance Ministry is pumping $630 million over the next five years to upgrade healthcare infrastructure, which translates to new hospitals and more doctors and nurses to care for the country`s aging population.
The health minister reportedly said he was satisfied with the budget from a health care perspective because it had increased by 19 percent meaning that there are more resources to improve health care standards.
Among the proposed projects is the 550-bed Khoo Teck Puat Hospital to be completed in Yishun by 2010.
The Health chief added that the government will also spend another $700 million over the same period to recruit and train more healthcare professionals, including not only doctors, but also pharmacists, physiotherapists and other allied health professionals in the public sector.
This is on top of the additional 40 percent nurses that Singapore had previously committed to bring into the public sector.
Moreover, the government has promised to provide a one-off top-up to Medisave accounts to help older Singaporeans pay for their medical bills and increased MediShield premiums amounting to $154 million.
Reforms are also being lined up to boost the ElderCare Fund -- which was formed to support older Singaporeans who need long term care in nursing homes --- by $280 million this year, bringing its size to $1.12 billion.
Source: www.allheadlinenews.com (18 Februari 2008)
