History of Singapore General Hospital - 1970s: Medical Specialization

1970s: Medical Specialization

By the 1970s, rapid industrialization and social progress in Singapore had fuelled the demand for specialized medical services. In 1970, a committee appointed by the government to look into medical specialization proposed that SGH should channel its resources into five specialist areas: neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, paediatric surgery, nephrology and plastic and reconstructive surgery. In subsequent years, several departments and units were established to develop specialization in the aforementioned areas. Following a shift towards genetic and metabolic diseases, paediatric surgery was introduced as a subspecialty in the Department of Surgery in 1972. In the same year, the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive surgery was officially opened. The department specialized in the treatment of congenital abnormalities, facial and hand injuries and burns. 1972 also saw a major reorganization of the earlier established Emergency Unit to handle the treatment of both trauma and non-trauma cases. Two years later, the Unit was transformed into the Accident and Emergency Department which subsequently provided 24-hour support for all emergency cases. The Department of Renal Medicine was also established in 1974. Its establishment made dialysis and renal transplant services accessible to the public. In 1975, a Surgical Intensive Care Unit was set up in response to the establishment of several new surgical departments. The Unit, in conjunction with the earlier established Department of Anaesthesia, provided intensive care for patients that underwent surgery.