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SINGAPORE \u2013 As healthcare workers in community and social settings are required to support patients holistically and perform more than one dedicated role, all relevant training programmes for allied health professionals will have the same core modules in their first-year curricula. <\/p>\n
This will happen from 2027, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Nov 20.<\/p>\n
Currently, allied health professionals (AHPs) such as radiographers, dietitians, physiotherapists and psychologists are trained in \u201cstrict verticals\u201d with little scope for cross-disciplinary training and role-sharing.<\/p>\n
However, this is not ideal as healthcare is increasingly delivered outside of the setting of acute hospitals, including in community hospitals, Mr Ong said.<\/p>\n
The introduction of the shared core modules will also benefit students in such programmes by providing them with a stronger foundation and help them make better decisions on their specialities in their second year, he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cAfter graduation, with a stronger foundation, they are also in a better position to continue their learning, further deepening their speciality or acquiring new adjacent specialised AHP skills,\u201d added Mr Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies. <\/p>\n
He was speaking at the official opening of St Andrew\u2019s Community Hospital (Bedok), located in Bedok South Avenue 1.<\/p>\n
He described the changes as similar to how polytechnics reviewed their courses a decade ago, when courses that were narrower in scope were merged or phased out, with common polytechnic first-year curricula developed around broader disciplines such as engineering, information technology and business.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften, AHPs need to lead teams and work across disciplines to support patients holistically in the community,\u201d Mr Ong said. <\/p>\n
In line with this new approach, he noted that such professionals will be grouped into three domains.<\/p>\n
The first domain is psychosocial and behavioural, which includes healthcare workers such as clinical counsellors, psychologists and medical social workers.<\/p>\n
The second is the rehabilitation and functional domain, which will include speech therapists, physiotherapists and podiatrists.<\/p>\n
The third is diagnostics and therapeutics, comprising radiation therapists and medical laboratory technologists.<\/p>\n
Beyond the shared modules in the first year, AHPs\u2019 training pathways will also be built based on \u201clearning blocks\u201d, each representing a specific task that these professionals are expected to perform in the healthcare work environment, Mr Ong said. <\/p>\n
Each block can be stacked on another towards a formal certification or qualification, enabling AHPs to diversify or pivot into new roles as care needs change later, he added. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, an AHP trained through the rehabilitation and functional domain can specialise to become a physiotherapist during his formal education and, later on after he starts work, undertake new learning blocks to also qualify as an occupational therapist,\u201d said Mr Ong. <\/p>\n
Describing this as \u201ca significant transformation and a multi-year effort\u201d, he said the Ministry of Health is working closely with the allied health professional boards and various institutes of higher learning to make these changes.<\/p>\n
The allied health sector is being reviewed, with updates to salary guidelines to be published in 2026, following salary enhancements introduced in the public healthcare clusters in 2025.<\/p>\n
At the launch of St Andrew\u2019s Community Hospital (Bedok), Mr Ong said it will support Changi General Hospital (CGH) in meeting the healthcare needs in the east of the island. CGH is one of Singapore\u2019s busiest hospitals, with its emergency department seeing 2,735 patients in the second week of November.<\/p>\n
The situation will improve further when the Eastern General Hospital in Bedok North opens in 2029, he added. <\/p>\n
Located at the site of the former Hitachi Consumer Products factory, St Andrew\u2019s Community Hospital (Bedok) is the Republic\u2019s 11th community hospital and St Andrew\u2019s second such facility after the first in Simei. <\/p>\n
The hospital has 100 community hospital beds and 140 transitional care facility beds to support stable patients who require medical or rehabilitative support before returning home or moving to long-term arrangements.<\/p>\n
It features dementia-friendly design elements, such as ward pantries that encourage social interaction. <\/p>\n
To enhance patient safety, all beds and patient toilets will be equipped with an artificial intelligence-driven system for the prediction and prevention of falls. <\/p>\n
It also features a mobility park with a repurposed MRT train carriage, bus and taxi, which therapists can use to help patients regain confidence in using public transport. <\/p>\n
Occupational therapists can also use the area to train patients in the safe use of personal mobility aids such as mobility scooters when crossing roads. <\/p>\n
Horticultural therapy hydroponics gardens within the hospital serve as therapeutic spaces promoting recovery and engagement.<\/p>\n
A room dedicated to activities of daily living is equipped with realistic home fixtures that simulate everyday environments to allow patients to practise daily tasks safely and confidently. <\/p>\n
The room is also a training area where caregivers can be guided on safe caregiving techniques and introduced to assistive devices for home use.<\/p>\n
St Andrew\u2019s Mission Hospital president Titus Chung noted that the facility had been transformed into a hospital in just 10 months, having previously served as a factory producing television sets and other electronic appliances for more than 40 years. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt has come full circle to become a facility that cares for patients who came from this generation of workers,\u201d said Dr Chung, who is also the Anglican Bishop of Singapore. <\/p>\n
St Andrew\u2019s Community Hospital chief executive Loh Yik Hin noted that its Simei hospital was Singapore\u2019s first community hospital when it opened in 1992.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the opening of our Bedok campus, we continue caring for the community and making a difference in the lives of our patients,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n