Affordable or free care at new Beach Road clinic for seniors in rental flats

SINGAPORE - A community clinic in Beach Road that provides free and highly subsidised primary care to elderly people living in the area's rental flats has seen its number of patients growing steadily.

Since the clinic, a joint initiative by Sata CommHealth and Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), opened in September 2024, more than 66 per cent of the 1,000 care visits have been made by residents in the low-income group living in rental flats.

The Sata CommHealth Community Clinic was officially opened by Mayor of Central Singapore District Denise Phua on March 10. "The objective of this centre is really to ensure accessibility because it is right smack in the middle of a housing estate that is in need, and that is really important," said Ms Phua, who is also an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, where the clinic is located.

She emphasised that the clinic is also affordable because it is "plugged into our Chas system, and that's really useful".

The Community Health Assist Scheme, or Chas, enables all Singapore citizens, including Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation card holders, to receive subsidies for preventive, medical and dental care at participating general practitioners and dental clinics.

The colour of the Chas card - blue, orange or green - indicates the subsidy tier the card holder is entitled to.

Sata CommHealth will pay the out-of-pocket amount for eligible Chas card holders, with the amount varying according to current subsidies.

Sata CommHealth chairman Tan Boon Gin said: "Since our soft opening in late September 2024, some 520 residents have visited us until Dec 31, 2024.

"More than 66 per cent of the 1,000 care visits during this period were made by residents of rental blocks. These are the patients Sata CommHealth wants to serve, and we are grateful for the opportunity to do so."

He said the idea of establishing the community clinic in Beach Road began about two years ago during a dinner attended by the leaderships of Sata CommHealth and SingHealth. This led to the two organisations "coming together to provide accessible and affordable primary care for vulnerable families and seniors".

Dr Kelvin Phua, chief executive of Sata CommHealth, said the senior population makes up more than 25 per cent of the residents in the Beach Road area.

"We provide frailty screening and our interest is in the prevention of falls, which can have catastrophic results for these elderly residents. Apart from the usual cough and cold consultations, we also provide intervention against frailty, such as exercises and nutrition," he said.

The doctors and nurses at the clinic also educate the elderly residents about the importance of having advance care planning (ACP) and a lasting power of attorney (LPA).

ACP is a national programme that aims to empower Singaporeans to choose how they would like to be cared for, while the LPA is a legal document, which allows them to voluntarily appoint one or more persons to make decisions and act on their behalf should they lose their mental capacity one day.

Since September 2024, the number of daily patients at the clinic has risen from 10 to between 20 and 30 today.

"We are anticipating the numbers to reach 40 to 50 in the next few months," Dr Phua said.

He added that Sata CommHealth has its sights set on the Chin Swee Road area for another clinic as its residential make-up is similar to that of Beach Road.

"Once we find the right location, we will start setting up a community clinic there," Dr Phua said.