Together, We Flourish: 90 Years of Innovative Care

My heartiest congratulations to Changi General Hospital (CGH) on your 90th anniversary! This is a significant milestone in a remarkable journey that is reflective of Singapore's healthcare transformation.

CGH started as Changi Hospital in 1935, a 'cottage' hospital serving British military personnel. In 1997, it merged with Toa Payoh Hospital, by then an established general hospital with a strong tradition in clinical excellence, to become today's Changi General Hospital. From these beginnings, CGH has grown into an institution known for innovation, excellence and dedication to delivering good patient care and positive population health outcomes. At 90, it has established an enduring legacy, worthy to uphold for generations to come.

First, CGH has shown unwavering commitment to caring for the community. Long before there was Healthier SG, CGH already made community care, including preventive care, a priority. It has pioneered care models and programmes such as the Neighbours for Active Living programme, which ensures that seniors with complex health-social needs continue to receive timely care after their discharge from the hospital. It also introduced CareLine, a 24/7 personal care telephone service, to support seniors who may be living alone or are frail, so that they can be safe at home. The GPFirst initiative was introduced by CGH in 2014 to help patients with mild to moderate conditions turn to their general practitioners (GPs) first instead of Emergency Departments. This better streamlines hospital resources to focus on delivering timely emergency care for those who need it, while strengthening primary care networks in the community. The EAGLEcare (Enhancing Advance Care Planning, Geriatric Care and End of Life Care in Nursing Homes in the East) programme established a collaborative model of care between CGH and nursing home partners to deliver holistic and compassionate end-of-life care, while the Community Psychogeriatric Programme was introduced to improve the mental health of older persons living in the community.

For all its efforts in championing community care programmes, CGH won four consecutive National Medical Excellence Awards from 2021 to 2024. Many of its initiatives have also been adopted by other hospitals across Singapore, and provide the foundation of Healthier SG today.

Second, CGH has been at the forefront of healthcare delivery. It is an active adopter of medical technology. For example, the Alice Lee Innovation Centre of Excellence at CGH Campus (A.L.I.C.E @ CGH Campus) experiments with new care models or prototypes through partnerships with companies, and aims to be a reference site for healthcare innovation, while the Centre for Healthcare Assistive & Robotics Technology (CHART) serves as the clinical anchor on use cases for robotics and automation in healthcare facilities. Today, CGH is actively exploring the practice of complementary therapy, including the role of evidencebased traditional Chinese medicine in an integrative medicine approach.

Third, CGH is patient-centric, as it continually seeks to streamline and enhance care for patients. In 1998, CGH was one of the pioneering hospitals in Singapore to establish geriatric medicine as a specialty, and in 2004, it opened its Geriatric Medicine Centre, a one-stop facility providing specialised care for older adults. In 2015, in collaboration with St. Andrew's Community Hospital, CGH launched the Integrated Building, ensuring smoother transitions from acute to community care, and better rehabilitation outcomes for patients. Decades of efforts by healthcare professionals and planners, past and present, have enabled CGH to earn international recognition. Healthcare professionals do their best not for accolades, but for patients and their loved ones. That has always been – and must remain – the guiding light for CGH and Singapore's healthcare system.

Healthcare faces significant future challenges – an ageing population, the threat of future pandemics, the rising prevalence of non-communicable diseases, and emerging mental health issues among our youths. However, at the same time, the advancement of medical technology and the focus on population health offer us new solutions and present tremendous opportunities to transform healthcare for the better.

As we celebrate CGH's 90th anniversary, we pay tribute to the healthcare professionals, past and present, who are part of this legacy. Thank you for your dedication and contributions. The passion and commitment of this and next generations of healthcare professionals will take CGH to even greater heights and meet the challenges of the future.

As Changi General Hospital (CGH) commemorates 90 years of caring for our community, we find ourselves at the forefront of healthcare’s most transformative era. Across the world, the digital revolution is reimagining healthcare delivery more profoundly than any other industry, creating the potential for greater lifesaving possibilities and life-enhancing outcomes. CGH is wellpositionedto navigate this transformation, leading with both innovation and compassion.

CGH, which has been consistently ranked amongst the world’s best smart hospitals, has been in the vanguard of this transformation. CGH’s journey as a smart hospital reflects a deliberate and strategic commitment to harness technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, telemedicine, digital imaging and advanced analytics to deliver safer care, empower patients, and enhance the overall patient experience. From automated pharmacy systems that revolutionise medication management, to leveraging AI and data analytics to enhance clinical decisionmaking, and streamlining of workflows for more efficient processes, each technological integration has been purposefully implemented to enhance patient care and support our patients from hospital to home and community.

PharmaSIS, for instance, is Singapore’s first smart vending machine that allows patients to purchase prescription-only medicines via an on-site teleconsultation. The CGH ‘Ask Cha Cha’ chatbot provides payment and billing support around-the-clock, addressing patients’ queries with clarity. Convenient and accessible, these initiatives empower patients to take charge of their healthcare journeys. Autonomous robots also navigate the hospital corridors, delivering meals and supplies, assisting in the operating theatres or with stroke rehabilitation, and supporting patients in dementia therapy. Today, more than 80 robots form the smart care team at CGH, working seamlessly alongside staff across the campus. They deliver medications and blankets, assist with wayfinding, and relieve the care teams of the more laborious tasks at one of the busiest Emergency Departments in Singapore. This is made possible with the Robotics Middleware for Healthcare (RoMi-H) platform, which orchestrates the harmonious movement of diverse robotic systems in our human-rich environment.

Innovation is never for its own sake. CGH’s goal is to seamlessly integrate purposefully designed technological innovation into care delivery to enhance the space for human connections, patient journeys and experiences that undergird healthcare. What sets CGH apart is the thoughtful way in which innovation is applied to address real healthcare challenges, fostering healthier communities and improving quality of life.

At the heart of this healthcare transformation are our people. Our staff are deeply committed to delivering excellent patient care as they embrace innovation, adapt to new technologies with a spirit of curiosity, and commit to continuous learning for improvement. Their passion epitomises CGH as the Caring General Hospital, where every innovation is guided by compassion and purpose, and where technology ultimately serves to improve lives.

I am confident that the same spirit of innovation and compassion that has carried CGH through the last 90 years will continue to propel us forward in the decades ahead, as we reimagine care to be more predictive, preventive and personalised.

This commemorative book is both a record of the hospital’s remarkable journey in shaping healthcare in Singapore, and a tribute to the CGH pioneers who have built this legacy. May it inspire future generations to continue advancing care that touches hearts and transforms lives.