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Singapore HEALTH AND WELFARE
Medical Services and Public Health
As indicated by their long life expectancy and low
death rates,
Singaporeans generally enjoyed good health. Standards of
nutrition
and environmental sanitation were high. The Ministry of
the
Environment's Vector Control and Research Department was
responsible for controlling mosquitoes, flies, rats, and
other
disease-bearing animals; the Food Control Department and
the
Hawkers Department inspected food producers and outlets
for
cleanliness and sanitation. The Ministry of the
Environment's
Public Affairs Department conducted educational campaigns
on such
topics as environmental sanitation, control of
mosquito-breeding
sites, proper disposal of refuse, and food handling.
Educational
efforts were backed up by sanctions, which included fines
of up to
S$500 for spitting or failing to flush public toilets.
The population was served by nine government hospitals
with
7,717 beds and by twelve private hospitals with 2,076
beds. In 1987
the Ministry of Health certified 2,941 physicians, 9,129
nurses,
653 dentists, and 487 pharmacists. Five of the nine
government
hospitals were general hospitals, providing a complete
range of
medical services and twenty-four hour emergency rooms, and
the
other four each had a specialty: obstetrics and
gynecology,
dermatology and venereology, psychiatry, or infectious
diseases. In
1987 the Ministry of Health's Community Health Service
operated
twenty-four clinics in major housing complexes, offering
primary
medical treatment for injuries and common diseases. The
Maternal
and Child Health Service provided preventive health care
for
mothers and preschool children at twenty-three clinics,
while
school children were served by the School Health Service.
Government hospitals and clinics charged fees for their
services, although the fees were generally low and the
medical
services were heavily subsidized. The fees were intended
to
discourage frivolous use of the medical system and to
demonstrate
that residents were responsible for their own health
costs, as
Singapore was not a welfare state. After 1984 Singaporeans
could
pay for their medical expenses through the Medisave
Scheme, under
which 6 percent of the monthly income of every contributor
to the
Central Provident Fund could be set aside for the medical
expenses
of the contributor and the contributor's spouse, parents,
grandparents, and children in all government or private
hospitals.
Data as of December 1989
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