East Shore Hospital gets makeover

Source : Straits Times – 22 Aug 2009

EAST Shore Hospital, nestled in Telok Kurau for the last 70 years, was in need of a makeover.
It is now getting a thorough one, with chief executive officer Michael Tan at the helm.

Dr Tan, 36, who took charge last September, wants to turn the women and children’s hospital into a general hospital, offering also aesthetic medicine, neurology and dermatology.

It will grow physically, with more beds being added.

Also in Dr Tan’s vision: personalised service, like what boutique hotels give.

The hospital’s new focus and mission will be matched with a new look. Renovations – running into a seven-digit figure – will be completed by next year.

A name change is also planned, but Dr Tan is tight-lipped about it; he will only say it will be revealed in an opening ceremony in two months.

The hospital took on its current name in 1989. Parkway Holdings bought it in 1995.

From 1983 to 1988, it was known as the American Hospital; and from 1974 to 1979, it was St Mark’s Hospital.

Further back in its history, the hospital had started out as Paglar Maternity and Nursing Home.
Dr Tan first visited the hospital more than a decade ago, when he was a houseman. He told The Straits Times that his impression then was that the place seemed to have been stuck in a time capsule for the longest time.

A family physician by training, he was previously vice-president of the business unit of Parkway Shenton, the Parkway group’s general practitioner chain.

Improvements to East Shore are already visible. Outside, the building is getting a new coat of paint – blue and gold.

Inside, the lobby has modern furnishings. The old canteen and in-house pharmacy have made way for a cafeteria, Delifrance and My Toast outlets and a Guar-dian pharmacy.

A VIP suite, for patients who are prepared to pay a premium, is being added. It will have two wings – one for the patients and the other for their families.

Other wards will be renovated next year.

In the longer term, the existing 153-bed hospital will have 100 to 150 more beds – made possible by moving the hospital carpark to land leased from a nearby hostel.

New specialist clinics for sports medicine, dermatology, ophthalmology and neurology will be set up in the medical suite wing, to be spruced up with new wallpaper and furnishings.

To make way for these clinics, some members of the administrative staff have moved out to a leased area nearby.

Dr Tan is also exploring other ways to create more room for beds and suites – perhaps by buying the neighbouring land or expanding vertically, though he may be hampered by the height limits in the neighbourhood.

The improvements will cost but, he said, charges will be maintained for now.

The rates now range from $135 for a four-bedder room to $410 for a single room.

One patient who has noticed the changes is vehicle mechanic Soon Lian Hee, 55, who was there recently to consult a specialist.

He had not visited the hospital for some time and was impressed by the new decor and improved services.

He said: ‘I had mentioned to the woman at the counter that I was hungry, and without my even asking, she gave me directions on where to go. The service has improved.’