NINEty Years of Trusted Care and Beyond

Advancing care excellence requires continuous evolution, and CGH is purposefully building robust foundations, driving meaningful innovation and nurturing human potential to not only prepare for, but actively forge the future.

Through our journey, CGH has innovated healthcare and been a strong partner in integrating care services for the community. As we steer the forward path for healthcare, we remain focused on delivering integrated, sustainable and patient-centred care. This involves strengthening systemness and building a value-driven healthcare system that is secure and sustainable, measurable and meaningful, adaptable and agile, responsive and reliable, and time-sensitive and timely.

This will help us continue to meet current and future health needs, while keeping our patients and people at the heart of all we do.

PROPELLING THE CARING GENERAL HOSPITAL AHEAD

Singapore’s rapidly ageing population will increase the demand for healthcare services. Meeting this challenge requires not only expanding clinical capability but also reimagining how we use and design space.

Our most visible commitment to advancing high-quality care thus lies in the remodelling of our home campus. CGH will undergo significant transformation through phased infrastructure works, designed to support expanding capabilities, optimise space use, and build capacity for the community’s growing healthcare needs. This endeavour – aligning space, technologies and human capital development – reimagines how healthcare spaces canbe transformed to advance patient care and enhance working environments. The efforts include upgraded critical care and patient care facilities, improved respite spaces, and expanded amenities that reflect the hospital’s understanding that quality patient care begins with supporting those who provide it.

To manage capacity constraints and maintain service excellence during this process, CGH actively works with our partners to enhance seamless transfers to transitional care facilities in Bedok and Upper Changi. This ensures care continuity while the main campus grows to address future needs. We believe that CGH must never remain static – we must continually evolve, adapt and transform to anticipate future health needs and remain a trusted partner in care.

DEEPENING CAPABILITIES

We continue to deepen established strengths while developing new competencies to meet the evolving health needs of our community.

CGH will build on our expertise in geriatric medicine, rehabilitation medicine, endocrinology and metabolic health, orthopaedics, pulmonology, sport and exercise medicine, and population health, amongst others, cementing leadership within Singapore and internationally. We will advance our position in niche areas such as mental health, occupational and aviation medicine as well as correctional health.

In the area of integrative medicine, our approach will focus on promoting the integration of traditional Chinese medicine in public healthcare, including incorporating evidence-based traditional Chinese medicine services into Western medical practices, and pursuing research through our integrative medicine practice.

As the nation takes steps to address Singapore’s healthcare challenges through Healthier SG and preventive care, adopting a population-focused perspective influences how we approach clinical care, particularly for metabolic health conditions. Working with partners in the community, this enables CGH to proactively manage health and help people live well and age well at home.

DRIVING INNOVATION AND IMPACT

At the core of CGH’s culture of transformative clinical care and outstanding innovation is the drive to create impactful work that benefits patients and their caregivers, and support the well-being of staff.

Fuelled by the pursuit to better patient care, experience and safety, our research, innovation and enterprise (RIE) efforts extend beyond treatment and technology to encompass the broader care ecosystem and population health initiatives. An Advisory Committee provides strategic guidance for RIE efforts, ensuring that innovation aligns with clinical priorities and community health needs.

Healing will take on a new dimension as we spearhead exploration into nature as a powerful ally in patient care. CGH’s nature-based therapy research aims to uncover how natural environments in an integrated healthcare setting can improve mental wellbeing, accelerate recovery and provide much-needed relief for patients and caregivers. The goal is to develop proven, sustainable interventions that make nature an integral part of every healing journey.

We are also systematically integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into clinical decision-making, automation and predictive analytics. Robotics and digital tools are being deployed to reduce tedious workloads and improve care quality, while staff receive AI literacy training to build the hospital’s knowledge capital.

Collaboration is essential to advance innovation and drive improvements across the entire healthcare system, as no single institution can address the complex challenges of modern healthcare alone. Cross-pollination of ideas and expertise accelerates innovation while ensuring that CGH remains connected to broader healthcare and research ecosystems.

This is why CGH will continue to work closely with partners within SingHealth and beyond, fostering collaborative networks that amplify our collective impact on healthcare transformation.

PEOPLE-CENTRED DEVELOPMENT

CGH’s mission is centred on a fundamental principle: to provide the best care for patients with passion and empathy, we must first take excellent care of our people, the hospital’s most vital asset. CGH cultivates a culture of psychological safety, ensuring that everyone has each other’s backs, and creating an environment where mutual support enables exceptional patient care. This culture of care extends from patient interactions to relationships between colleagues, creating a healing environment grounded in kindness and mutual respect.

We have been strengthening psychological support through comprehensive resilience programmes, peer networks and wellness initiatives, while a staff wellness portal will serve as a comprehensive hub for resources, support and holistic programmes. These efforts acknowledge the emotional and psychological impact of healthcare work, which demands resilience, adaptability, and the ability to provide value-driven care with understanding, clarity, and agility in an increasingly complex environment.

At the same time, we recognise that caring for our people also means investing in their growth and preparing the next generation of healthcare professionals. Education, mentorship and skills development remain central to CGH’s culture, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to flourish, while building a strong pipeline of talent ready to lead the hospital and our healthcare system into the future. On this 90th anniversary, CGH is proud to establish the Lee Yong Kiat Faculty Professorship in Academic Healthcare Leadership and Medical Humanities which will recognise the leadership, practice and delivery of medicine in today’s ever-changing healthcare system.

And so, through nurturing tomorrow’s leaders, charting clear paths for growth, and weaving together a culture where every individual thrives, CGH continues to write the story where caring for our people becomes the foundation of the care our patients receive each day.

PLANTING SEEDS OF TOMORROW

The transformation of our physical spaces and deepening of capabilities to advance care is simultaneously planting seeds for the future of healthcare. The new CGH NextGen SHINE Award will also support the children of CGH staff on their tertiary education journey. Made possible by Assoc Prof Low Boon Yong, Emeritus Consultant, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, the study award programme will help empower pathways in healthcare education, which would yield benefits for decades to come.

As CGH forges ahead with this transformation, one constant remains: the commitment and dedication of our people to seek growth. It is this human element, supported by enhanced infrastructure and driven by innovative thinking, that will determine CGH’s success in delivering exceptional healthcare for the communities it serves.