1주차|보건,의료_심보미

Opening Remarks at the United Kingdom-Singapore Health Dialogue in London Speaker: Minister for Health in Singapore, Mr Ong Ye Kung Date: 3 December 2025 Event: the United Kingdom-Singapore Health Dialogue in London Word Count: 441 Glossary1) Healthier SG movement: (음차) '헬시어 SG' 운동: 싱가포르가 예방 중심 의료 체계로 전환하기 위해 추진하는 국가 건강정책 운동2) Age Well SG: (음차) '에이지 웰 SG' 국가 운동: 고령층의 활동적이고 건강한 노후와 사회적 연결을 지원하는 싱가포르 국가 이니셔티브 ScriptWhat binds us together is an alignment of fundamental beliefs—that citizens should have access to healthcare, regardless of their backgrounds, their income levels and their economic status. We share common challenges and opportunities. I will list a few major issues, and I think these issues are why healthcare has become probably the biggest political issue in most developed countries. First, we have similar demographic profiles, and both of our populations are ageing. People are living longer, but longer lifespan does not always translate to an equally longer health span. On average, Singaporeans are spending about 11 years with illnesses or disability in the later part of their lives. So more than lengthening lifespan, which is an old Key Performance Indicator of health ministries, I think today what we want is to narrow the gap between health span and lifespan. Singaporeans’ lifespan, on average, is already 83. Even if we do not live any longer, just by pushing up health span, I think it is a big achievement, and it is what we should be aiming for. Second, because of an ageing population, patient volume is rising, and we face a capacity crunch in both our countries. In Singapore, public hospital bed occupancy rates are high - 95% is common in the busiest hospitals. The UK similarly faces probably even more daunting challenges. Third, these challenges present an unprecedented opportunity to transform healthcare and a burning platform. We need to focus on keeping people healthy, and not just treating illnesses. We are reforming care models, delivering as much care as possible in the community and residential homes, away from acute hospitals. I was just mentioning to the Secretary, actually, that is the biggest productivity improvement, much more than better medicine, robotic surgery or Artificial Intelligence. Just right siting patients alone improves productivity. Community-based services, primary care, and home-based care collectively form a core pillar of our healthcare system today. And we must harness technology, such as telehealth and AI, to raise productivity and augment service delivery. Fourth, in the next two decades, there is a one-in-three chance that we will face another global pandemic like COVID-19, which will break out again. And we are co-operating closely on pandemic preparedness. So our countries have both embarked on significant healthcare reform programmes as a result of these challenges. In Singapore, we have the Healthier SG movement, which seeks to shift our healthcare system towards a stronger focus on preventive care. We have another national movement called Age Well SG. Essentially, it is to develop a network of community centres to support seniors to age actively, healthily, and connect themselves socially in the community.