Patients on the Health Ministry’s waiting list for non-emergency surgical services are now being cared for by the Oceania Hospitals medical team free of charge.

This follows the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement under the public-private partnership, where Oceania Hospitals agreed to utilize their facilities and attend to patients in need of urgent care.

Under this partnership, the Ministry of Health will bear the cost incurred for surgeries, as the Finance Ministry has allocated funds for this initiative.

Permanent Secretary for Health Dr. Jemesa Tudravu highlights that only four of the eight operating theatres at the CWM Hospital are currently operational, resulting in a significant backlog.

“CWM is a big hospital with more than 500 beds, while this facility has about 50 to 60 beds. You can imagine the workload at CWM in terms of surgical load, but this agreement allows the Pacific Oceania Hospital to take some of that load, helping us address other surgical demands.”

Oceania Hospitals Pte Ltd Chief Executive Murgessan Pillay says one operating theatre is dedicated to this initiative five days a week.

“At the moment, it focuses on two key areas: gynaecology, primarily cesarean cases and related surgeries, and general surgery cases. Depending on the numbers, two or three days a week are for gynaecology cases, and the remaining days are for general surgery cases.”

Pillay states that this agreement is expected to last for three to six months, with the possibility of an extension based on the need for these services.