In 2012, Parkway Pantai Group launched Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital (MNH) that comprises of only single-bedded rooms.
Each room comes with standard hotel-styled features such as floor-to-ceiling windows, marble bathrooms, a mini bar, coffee machines and luxury linen. Available upon request - at no additional costs - are limousine transfer services and complimentary massages for maternity patients.
This is not an uncommon sight anymore as many of these 5-star hospitals are on the rise in Singapore.
Set to officially open its doors this month, Farrer Park Hospital (FPH) is the newest private hospital in town.
The 220-bedded facility is part of Singapore’s first fully integrated healthcare-hospitality complex which links the hospital to a five-star One Farrer Hotel and Spa, restaurants and educational facilities.
Besides its upscale offerings, arrangements can be made for relatives of patients to have direct access into the hospital’s deluxe suites from the hotel, a benefit for international patients travelling with family members.
One of the rooms in Mount Elizabeth Novena.
Image credits: Mount Elizabeth Novena
Single rooms significantly reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections while the added privacy allow patients to recover in peaceful environment, said Mr Stephens Lo, chief executive officer of MNH. As a result, patients tend to have higher expectations.
Recognising this, facilities providing maternity healthcare services have also jumped on the bandwagon, attracting patients with complimentary perks at no additional charges. Apart from clinical services, patients now look for value-added offerings, said Ms Mega Shuen, general manager at Thomson Medical Centre (TMC).
For instance, TMC provides maternity patients with a complimentary massage service as well as post-discharge phone call services to ensure that mother and baby are coping well. Mothers who deliver there this year will also enjoy a specially commissioned luggage comprising a range of premium maternity and baby items.
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The lobby reception of Mount Elizabeth Novena
Image credits: Mount Elizabeth Novena
For private patients, a Class A single bedded room in National University Hospital’s (NUH) general ward is around S$527 a night, with deluxe rooms in the same ward at around S$762.
A Class A1 single bedded room at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s (TTSH) acute ward starts from $420 a night, while a deluxe room at TTSH’s acute ward starts from S$550 a night, according to the hospitals’ websites.
MNH’s Class A room is priced from S$418 per night while its single signature room, which comes with personalised nursing service, starts from S$710 per night. FPH, which offers four-bedded, single bedded and deluxe suites, charges S$562 per night for a single-bedded suite.
But while rooms charges are competitively priced, they are not indicative of overall hospital bill size, which vary with different medical procedures and doctors’ fees.
For instance, the estimated 90th percentile bill size for cataract day surgery for private patients is S$9,073 and S$8,867 at FPH and MNH respectively; at NUH and Singapore National Eye Centre, it is S$6,598 and S$5,464 respectively, according to figures by Ministry of Health.
News Source: Channel News Asia
