Construction of the new $400 million, 400-beds Alexandra@Yishun hospital is now underway, and is expected to be completed by march 2009 (It was first announced as an election promise by the PAP in the 2001 general elections, by the way. 8 years to build a hospital?)

Nicely nestled on a plot of land between the yishun interchange and yishun park, the hospital is expected to provide much needed services to Singaporeans living in the north. Currently, the nearest hospital is Tan Tock Seng hospital, which can be about 40 minutes away.

The bus interchange (which is just across the road) and the yishun mrt station make access to the new hospital convenient. There are also a few big coffeeshops around that area which will certainly benefit from the expected increase in human traffic. I am sure that the present row of shops facing the site of the new hospital will especially welcome this too, as most of them do not seem to be doing very well right now. Hope they can hold out until the hospital opens in 2009!

Is the public transport system adequate?

Yet it is also this expected increase in human traffic that raises questions of whether the transport system is adequate. Yishun is a small town with basically one shopping centre (Northpoint), & one cinema (Yishun10) where most ‘yishunites’ converge.

With the hospital serving the medical needs of virtually everyone in the north (for up to 10 years until the woodlands hospital is built, at least) – from Ang Mo Kio to Yishun, from Sembawang to Woodlands* to even SengKang (and perhaps even malaysians from Malaysia), I wonder what arrangements are being made in terms of public transport.

(*A new General Hospital to be built in Woodlands has since been announced.)

As it is, yishun mrt station is jam-packed in the morning and evening with commuters heading towards the northern towns and the southern parts of Singapore. The bus interchange sees long queues of people as well, especially for its feeder bus services. I am afraid that the human traffic will see a drastic jump in numbers once the hospital opens and this will certainly make transport the number one concern for residents.

Anyone who has driven to yishun will also know that the only road leading there from the south – Lentor Avenue – already sees very heavy traffic, especially in the morning and evening. Currently, as far as I know, there aren’t any plans to expand the road to cater to the expected increase in vehicle traffic. (Our ambulances too can’t be stuck in congestion, right?)

I hope that the authorities will allay some of the concerns that residents may have about this and look into the issue of public transport. It is not fun at all to have to fight your way through train stations and bus interchanges, rubbing shoulders with and unwittingly elbowing your fellow ‘fighters’ early in the morning on your way to work, and on your way home from a tiring day.

May I also suggest that underground pedestrian crossings be created instead of overhead bridges from both the bus interchange side and from the yishun park side. This will make it more convenient for the older folks to access the hospital.

The good stuff

Aside from the above concerns, what I like about the site is that it is sort of an ‘island’ on its own – cut off by 4 roads, with a pond right beside where the new hospital will be. I am glad that the pond will be preserved as it’s a very nice place to stroll, jog or just sit at. I am also sure that many residents appreciate this. We can only hope that the authorities or owners will not charge any fee or toll for access to the pond! And please do not fence it up! Leave it accessible to the public.

But the pond does need a bit of cleaning up, with maybe some benches and more trees planted for shade. Perhaps a few pavilions along the way will add to the calmness of the place as well. It would be great if areas can be reserved for picnics! (Yes, I believe the entire site – some 3 ha – is enough to accommodate this.)

Across the road on the other side is yishun park. It used to be just a park – until SAFRA opened its club there, smack right in the middle of it. What a disappointment, really. Nonetheless, if the park can somehow be incorporated into the entire plan of the hospital, it’ll certainly be wonderful.

Potential

So, if the authorities can look into the issue of transport and handle it (without any excuse to increase fares), it looks like the new hospital will not only serve residents well, it will also be a welcome addition to liven up the dullness of the north, although the business is still to cater to people who are sick.

Alexandra@Yishun has the potential to be a leading-edge hospital, at least as far as design is concerned. After all, they did send a team to a Toyota factory in Japan to study ‘lean thinking’, right?

Lets see if they can live up to this potential.

I’ll do regular updates for theonlinecitizen on the progress of the construction of this new hospital.

I’m keeping an eye on this one.

Stay tuned.

——————-

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

CPF Board video-records exchanges between public members and their staff

It was earlier reported that a 60-year-old elderly man Lim Koh Leong…

Malaysia police awards appreciation medal to K9 unit’s German Sheppard Lao Wu

Malaysia’s Pahang police contingent awarded a German Sheppard from the K9 Unit…

Wife of Taiwanese presidential candidate cancels Singapore visit as foreign political activities are not allowed

Ms Lee Chia-fen, the wife of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu from Taiwan’s…

民主党对医疗议题提新方案 遭国营媒体忽视

在上周六(5月11日)。新加坡民主党提出该党对我国国民医疗保障的新倡议,献议改以用统一、收费单一的保险计划,让国人每月平均只需缴50元,就可获得基本的医疗保障。 该党主席淡马亚认为,现有“3M”(健保储蓄、终身健保和保健基金)等过于复杂繁琐,并直言医疗商品化,使得人们碍于成本不愿接受初级的看诊医疗服务,致使他们最终被迫掏更多钱,来治疗原本理应可预防的并发问题。 “作为一名医疗人士,我认为这样是不对的,我们应该确保所有人都能获得平等待遇,根据他们的临床需要而不是看他们的财力来提供治疗。” 该党建议的“国家健康投资基金”(NHIF),国人只需透过公积金户头,每月缴交平均50元(视收入而定),就可获得保障,这笔保费甚至低于现有的终身健保计划。其余的医疗开支,则透过政府由税收等方式来承担。 有鉴于医疗保健一直都是国人关注的课题,吊诡的是,除了《联合早报》以八分之一版位篇幅报导外,报业控股和新传媒的其他媒体几乎对民主党对医疗议题的新倡议只字不提,选择对攸关群众利益的公共政策观点论述沉默。 未派记者采访 本社了解,在上周六的民主党政策发布会,两家国营媒体机构也未有派记者前往采访。 然而, 对于民主党党要陈两裕和社运分子范国瀚,因被判藐视法庭罪双双被罚、还有上诉庭驳回民主党助理黄淑仪要求马西岭-油池集选区补选的上诉,两家传媒旗下媒体报章都有跟进报导。 呈现朝野间对公共政策的不同观点,乃是让人民可进行对比,促进国民对公共议题的讨论。然而,民主党对于重要的医疗议题提出新方案,本地国营媒体却可以选择忽略,着实令人惊讶。而在主流媒体所呈现的,执政政府和在野党以及公民社会的报导之间比例严重失衡,早已是不争的事实。