Speech by Dr William Chong, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Healthcare Holdings Ltd., at the Opening of the One-stop Integrated Medical & Dental Centre at Paragon on Thursday, 27 July 2006

Mr Heng Chee How
Minister of State for Health

Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning.

Opening remarks
Thank you for taking the time to join us as we celebrate the official opening of Pacific Healthcare’s newest multi-disciplinary medical facility. This one-stop, integrated specialist centre offers patients the convenience of receiving a wide range of medical and dental services in a single facility and represents yet another step in our vision of being an Institution of Medical Excellence in the region.

Changing Landscape
The world today is very different from the one we grew up in. I remember the excitement of the first colour television, or when Armstrong made that “giant leap for mankind”. In more recent times, I remember being asked to choose between a 20 and 30 MB hard drive. Today we are at 80 GB, or was that yesterday?
We live in an ever-changing world and in order to thrive, we need to constantly adapt and keep pace. Likewise in medicine where disease trends and the advent of new techniques require a constant updating of knowledge and skills. The challenge to doctors today is to always balance the latest technology with sound judgment and a caring heart in order to best serve our patient’s interest.”

Pacific Healthcare Specialist Centre
Pacific Healthcare Specialist Centre was established at a cost of S$3.2 million in response to patient’s demand for quality healthcare in a conducive environment. The centre seeks to provide the highest level of specialist medical and dental treatment by investing in the latest technology as well as recruiting competent and caring professionals. At the same time, we remain cognizant of the need for patient comfort and hospitality. We have made provisions for the busy executive by providing secretarial & business support services while waiting for friends and loved ones.

With today’s inauguration, I am pleased to announce that Pacific Healthcare now operates 56,000 sq ft of medical space within Orchard Road. This latest specialist centre adds to our existing network of more than 50 facilities, including medical and dental clinics, specialist centres, day surgery facilities, diagnostic imaging centres, and nursing homes.

With this expansion, Pacific Healthcare is well-positioned to become a major healthcare provider in Asia, leveraging on the region’s growing demand for healthcare and Singapore’s reputation for medical excellence. The Group also has operations in Hong Kong and India and will be commencing operations in China by the end of this year.

Singapore as a Medical Hub
It is anticipated that there will be a continued strong demand for quality healthcare in this region. Each year almost 400,000 international patients come to Singapore for treatment in view of Singapore’s reputation for medical excellence. To this end, SingaporeMedicine, a multi-agency Government collaboration has played a pivotal role. In support of this initiative, Pacific Healthcare has established an International Medical Assistance Centre manned by experienced patient relations officers to ensure prompt attention, information on specialists, appointments, hospital admissions as well as concierge services.

Conclusion
Time has indeed flown. Seven years ago, my colleagues and I envisioned the building of a multi-disciplinary specialist team with a patient-centric approach to healthcare. Today, we are acknowledged as one of Singapore’s leading healthcare groups. Nonetheless, despite our growth, our underlying founding principles of care and compassion for patients remain our guiding force.

We would not have come this far without the support of each and everyone of you here who has contributed to our growth over the years. Pacific Healthcare did not emerge overnight but was built brick by brick. Thank you for being that brick or the mortar in our foundation.