Alexandra Hospital

Aerial perspective of Alexandra Hospital, Singapore and its leafy surrounds. Taken October 2018

National Heritage Board's plaque on the grounds of Alexandra Hospital

Established in 1938, the hospital served as the principal hospital for the British in the Far East and was known as the British Military Hospital. During the Battle of Singapore in February 1942, the hospital was the scene of a massacre by Japanese soldiers of the wounded British and some of the medical staff. After World War II Alexandra Hospital remained as one of the most modern hospitals in Singapore right up to the 1970s.

In its heyday, Alexandra Hospital was an institution that adopted cutting-edge medical technology and was the first hospital in Southeast Asia to successfully perform limb re-attachment to a patient. Alexandra Hospital possessed several well-known medical expertise. These include:

• Sir Roy Calne, an internationally renowned transplant surgeon
• Major A.P. Dignan, Later Major General, Director of Army Surgery
• Sir David Weatherall, Regius professor of medicine and honorary director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at University of Oxford

Following the gradual downsizing and withdrawal of the British military presence in Singapore, the hospital was handed over to the government of Singapore in 1971 and remained as Alexandra Hospital. On 1 October 2000, the hospital became a member of the National Healthcare Group when it underwent major upgrading of its facilities.

In 2001, plans were made to move to a new hospital in Jurong by 2006.[1][2] However, in 2004, these plans were scrapped in favour of a move to a new 500-bed hospital in Yishun to be called Northern General Hospital, by 28 March 2009.[3][4] (This hospital in Yishun is not to be confused with another new hospital planned for nearby Woodlands, which was announced in March 2006, on the basis that Northern General would not be enough to serve people living in the north.[5])

On 16 May 2007, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan while attending the HIMSS AsiaPac 2007 conference announced that the new general hospital in Yishun has been named Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.[6] The family of late Mr Khoo Teck Puat had donated S$125 million towards building and funding the hospital. The new hospital would be different from other hospitals as it promises to put patients first and aims to minimise bureaucracy and paperwork. It was initially planned for Alexandra Hospital to be closed after KTPH was opened, but after August 2010, the hospital was kept in operation and transferred to Jurong Health after August 2010.

On 8 September 2012, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced that the hospital will remain in operation at least till 2018, but the team slated to run the Sengkang General and Community Hospitals will take over the facilities after the opening of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital in 2014-2015. A decision on the future of the hospital will be made nearer to 2018, said the Health Minister. Previously, Sengkang Health took over from JurongHealth ceased operations at Alexandra Hospital to prepare for the opening of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.

On 26 January 2015, with the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital opening in July 2015, it was announced that the Alexandra Hospital will then be closed for maintenance and renovation works. Specialist Outpatient Clinics Services will continue to operate at AH until its move to NTFGH. Alexandra Hospital will be taken over by Sengkang Health and reopen in phases by 3rd quarter 2015.[7] JurongHealth will cease operations at Alexandra Hospital (AH) at 5.30pm on 29 June to prepare for the opening of NTFGH the next day. This will include the hospital's Specialist Outpatient Clinics and Emergency Department.[8] Sengkang Health reopened the hospital in phases, with its Specialist Outpatient Clinics, operating theatres and other medical facilities becoming operational 2016.

After Sengkang Health moved out of the premises, the National University Health System took over the hospital on 1 June 2018.

The Urgent Care Centre is a 24-hour clinic that provides initial evaluation and management of walk-in patients and patients who request to be admitted to Alexandra Hospital via private ambulance only. For patients who need more than basic care, blood and radiological investigations will be done. Patients who are severely ill will be stabilised and transferred to emergency departments at the nearest public hospitals, namely the National University Hospital and the Singapore General Hospital.