THE door has been opened wider to foreign doctors, as Singapore
moves towards a new goal of having one doctor per patient in public
hospitals.
The public sector currently employs 3,156 doctors - which
translates to one doctor for every two patients at any given
time.
The Health Ministry is relaxing registration rules for foreign
doctors by reducing their probation periods, and recognising
qualifications from more foreign medical schools to boost the
number of doctors here.
Singapore currently has 7,611 registered doctors, including 2,286
who were trained in foreign institutions. Of these foreign-trained
practitioners, 976 are Singaporeans and the rest are foreigners.
The relaxed rules will also benefit Singaporeans who qualify at
newly recognised schools.
Previously, all foreign specialists had to work under supervision
in an approved institution - usually a public hospital - for three
years, while non-specialists had to be supervised for six years,
before receiving full registration.
From this year, the probation period for foreign doctors has been
shortened to two years for specialists, and four years for
non-specialists.
Those who have had at least five years' relevant experience after
becoming a qualified specialist or family physician are now allowed
to practise immediately in the private sector.
More institutions, including three top Indian medical schools, will
be added to the list of recognised institutions here next month.
Since 2003, the number of schools on the list has soared from 20 to
120.
The aim is to emulate renowned teaching and research institutions
overseas, such as Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, where the doctor
to patient ratio stands at one to one.
With more doctors, each can have more time to spend with each
patient as well as on teaching juniors and conducting more
research. This would improve patient satisfaction, and also job
satisfaction for doctors, said MOH's director of medical services,
Professor K. Satku.
The need for doctors will become more pressing as the number of
patients is expected to rise, with a growing and ageing population,
and more foreign patients.
Speaking to students at the Singapore Management University on the
globalisation of healthcare on Friday night, Health Minister Khaw
Boon Wan said: 'When more (foreign patients) come, and we do not
plan our capacity, whether it's more hospital beds or doctors,
prices are bound to go up... our job is to anticipate this and move
the supply curve so that prices will come down to a more
competitive level.'
His strategy is to increase the number of doctors trained here as
well as overseas.
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has increased its intake
of medical students, and classes at the new Duke-NUS Graduate
Medical School will start this August. So from 2012, Singapore will
produce about 300 doctors every year.
Mr Khaw also hopes to further increase Duke-NUS' intake by another
50 students in future.
But this will not be enough as doctors retire or quit. Last year,
212 doctors left the profession.
Foreigners are needed to fill the gap but they are in short supply
worldwide.
One big recruitment pool may be the Asian doctors in Europe who
might consider a return to Asia now that European Union rules are
kicking in to favour EU citizens over foreign residents.
'This is an opportunity for Singapore to draw them in and expand
our health-care,' Mr Khaw said.
(Straits Times 26 Jan)
