SPEECH BY MDM RAHAYU MAHZAM, MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT AND INFORMATION & MINISTRY OF HEALTH, AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE WOODLANDS HOSPITAL DIGESTIVE HEALTH CENTRE, 28 SEPTEMBER 2026

Professor Joe Sim, Group Chief Executive Officer, NHG Health

Mr Joe Hau, Chief Executive Officer, Woodlands Hospital

1.             Good morning. What a wonderful way to start Monday morning, to see so many of you here celebrating a milestone in Woodlands Hospital history. I am delighted to join you today for the opening of the Digestive Health Centre at Woodlands Hospital. It is my pleasure to mark this meaningful milestone with all of you.

2.             As Singapore’s newest hospital, Woodlands Hospital was designed to support the future of care delivery: care that is integrated, preventive, digitally enabled and closely connected to the community.

3.             The opening of the Digestive Health Centre marks an important step in this commitment. The Centre brings together comprehensive digestive health services and is supported by multidisciplinary care teams, artificial intelligence-enabled technologies and rehabilitation services. In doing so, patients and their families in the North can be assured of access to high-quality and coordinated digestive health care closer to home.

Bringing Better Care Closer to Residents in the North

4.             The Digestive Health Centre is part of the broader efforts to improve the health of residents in the North, which we embarked on earlier this year, by delivering care that is more integrated, preventive and person-centred. So let us provide you with an update on this progress.

5.              To date, Woodlands Hospital has launched all four specialist-supported care programmes for asthma, diabetes, psychiatry and post-colonoscopy care. Suitable patients can now attend routine consultations at enhanced Community Health Posts (CHPs) and through teleconsultations instead of at the Woodlands Hospital. This allows patients to receive follow-up care closer to home or remotely, saving a physical visit to the clinic. More than 100 residents have benefitted from this initiative so far.