2000- Present: Current Developments
In early 2000, a major reorganization of the public healthcare sector initiated by the government placed SGH under the management of Singapore Health Services (SingHealth). Through these managerial changes, SGH gained access to better infrastructural and professional support. The dawn of the new millennium also saw the advancement of medical procedures in SGH. In 2000, SGH carried out its first lung transplant together with personnel from the National Heart Centre and National Cancer Centre. The first minimally invasive surgical procedure for backache relief was also successfully performed in the same year. 2001 was a significant milestone for SGH: the hospital successfully separated a pair of cranially conjoined twins from Nepal in a historic 97-hour long surgery. In 2002, SGH pioneered a modified jaw advancement technique for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea in Asians. In the same year, the Postgraduate Allied Health Institute- the second such postgraduate institution in SGH- was established to provide postgraduate study and advanced clinical skills training opportunities for healthcare professionals. Two new departments- the Department of Behavioural Medicine and Department of Rheumatology & Immunology- were established the following year. SGH also commenced a liver dialysis programme in 2003 for patients with acute liver failure.
Singapore was afflicted by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in March 2003. SGH, together with Tan Tock Seng Hospital, was instrumental in curbing the epidemic. Apart from establishing a SARS Taskforce to contain hospital-wide infection, the hospital also mobilized its Department of Internal Medicine as well as several laboratories in its Virology Section and Pathology Department to actively diagnose the SARS virus.
2005 saw the opening of the SGH museum in the Bowyer block by President S R Nathan. The museum serves as a repository of hospital photos and documents preserved from the late 19th and 20th centuries. It also traces the evolution of medical equipment in SGH through its exhibits of various medical equipment and instruments from different segments of the hospital’s history. In 2007, construction of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School commenced in Outram. The campus is slated to open in 2009. Once functional, the school will integrate/ incorporate SGH’s medical facilities into its postgraduate programmes to train physician-scientists to support Singapore’s thrusts into the biomedical industry. By 2007, the hospital was also involved in several research initiatives including stem cell therapy, regenerative medicine, and neurological medicine.
Read more about this topic: History Of Singapore General Hospital
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