{"id":57190,"date":"2026-06-01T18:55:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T10:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=57190"},"modified":"2026-06-01T18:55:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T10:55:59","slug":"shorter-wait-times-for-eye-surgery-at-snecs-sengkang-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=57190","title":{"rendered":"Shorter wait times for eye surgery at SNEC\u2019s Sengkang clinic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013<!-- --> The Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) opened a new operating theatre at its Sengkang eye clinic in early May, enabling more patients to receive treatment in the heartland.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">This will be the third operating theatre at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/health\/quality-healthcare-closer-to-home?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">SNEC\u2019s branch at Sengkang General Hospital (SKH)<\/span><\/a>, where patients can undergo procedures such as cataract surgery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">According to SNEC<!-- -->, its eye clinic at SKH receives close to 30,000 patient visits each year. In 2025, more than 3,000 eye <!-- -->operations<!-- --> were carried out at its two operating theatres.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The addition of a new operating theatre could raise the figure to 5,000 a year, said senior consultant Woo Jyh Haur, who heads the SNEC eye clinic at SKH.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The eye clinic at SKH now supports nearly 30 faculty surgeons performing operations across its three operating theatres, added <!-- -->Woo<!-- -->, who is from SNEC\u2019s corneal and external eye disease department.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said the additional operating theatre at SKH will give patients faster access to care and shorten waiting times for surgery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Patients who do not live near SKH but have been seen at SNEC\u2019s main centre at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) in<!-- --> <!-- -->Outram and other affiliated clinics may also choose to undergo cataract surgery at SKH.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWe aim to make <!-- -->surgical care and processes<!-- --> across sites as seamless as possible so that patients can undergo surgery at SKH and continue their usual follow-up care at SNEC\u2019s other locations,\u201d Woo said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Meanwhile, patients who require specialised care that is available only at the main centre, such as corneal transplants, will continue their follow-up there, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SNEC said it has expanded its network of eye clinics over the years to make eye care more accessible and convenient for residents in central and eastern Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SNEC\u2019s main centre is in SGH, and it has clinics and operating theatres across Singapore, including in KK Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital, Changi General Hospital, <!-- -->SKH<!-- --> and Bedok.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"landscape inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/6383d69813bf50daaa206616e73b8575000cb34bfdd9fbfb815ed1215855cad9?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/6383d69813bf50daaa206616e73b8575000cb34bfdd9fbfb815ed1215855cad9?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/6383d69813bf50daaa206616e73b8575000cb34bfdd9fbfb815ed1215855cad9?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/6383d69813bf50daaa206616e73b8575000cb34bfdd9fbfb815ed1215855cad9\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/6383d69813bf50daaa206616e73b8575000cb34bfdd9fbfb815ed1215855cad9\" alt=\"According to the Singapore National Eye Centre, its eye clinic at Sengkang General Hospital receives close to 30,000 patient visits each year.\" class=\"aspect-landscape flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover landscape article-landscape mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 flex flex-col gap-08 py-16 desktop:pb-24\">\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular text-secondary\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">According to the Singapore National Eye Centre, its eye clinic at Sengkang General Hospital receives close to 30,000 patient visits each year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular text-placeholder\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\">PHOTO: SINGAPORE NATIONAL EYE CENTRE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SNEC said it aims to ensure everyone has access to cost-effective eye care services in a timely manner, especially seniors who are affected by age-related eye diseases.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">But Woo noted that<!-- --> <!-- -->some patients still prefer to visit SNEC\u2019s main centre because they are unaware of the services available at SKH or hold misconceptions about the scope and quality of care provided.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThey may assume that more comprehensive or higher-quality care can be found only at the SNEC main centre, but we draw from the same pool of specialists here, and the operating facilities at SKH are equipped to the same standard for routine eye procedures as the main centre,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In 2024<!-- -->, SNEC\u2019s clinic in<!-- --> <!-- -->Sengkang served around 4,000 new patients living in the area. Meanwhile, its main clinic in Outram received about 5,000 new patients living in the vicinity of SKH.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThis suggests that there is a significant opportunity for more patients to access care closer to home,\u201d Woo said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">One such patient who chose to have her cataract surgery done at SNEC\u2019s eye clinic in SKH was Yishun resident Lim Beng Hong. The 61-year-old had initially visited the main centre with her daughter Eileen See, 34, as they were both unaware that there was a closer location.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">They opted for SKH after learning that Lim\u2019s<!-- --> <!-- -->surgeon, Woo, could also perform the surgery there, said See, who lives in Sengkang.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">After the first appointment with Woo on Jan 2, Lim had cataract surgery done on both of her eyes less than a month later, on Jan 27 and Feb 9. <!-- -->\u201cMy mother was quite happy. In less than an hour, we were out of the clinic. They were quite efficient,\u201d See said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cIf we knew Sengkang had an SNEC eye clinic, we would have gone there from the start,\u201d she added. \u201cIt would have been a lot more convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/health\/shorter-wait-times-for-eye-surgery-with-snecs-third-operating-theatre-in-sengkang\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 The Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) opened a new operating theatre at its Sengkang eye clinic in early May, enabling more patients to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":57191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/57191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}