Future hospitals could see merger of B2 and C wards

Patients who choose to stay in public hospitals' subsidised wards in the future, especially at new hospitals, will most likely be placed in a ward with a maximum of six beds, instead of up to eight beds or more now.

- Yap Wei Qiang Correspondent

Ward layouts for new hospitals have been standardised with the launch of a new national framework - the Healthcare Facility Design Standards (HFDS) on Dec 9 by the Ministry of Health (MOH).

It paves the way for a possible merger between the two subsidised ward types B2 and C of which MOH said in 2021 that their physical differences "are no longer so obvious".

HFDS also standardises other features of public hospitals, such as plumbing systems and lifts.

This brings about numerous benefits, including allowing new hospitals to be built faster, at a potentially lower cost.

The new Tengah General and Community Hospital (TGCH) in Tengah Garden Avenue, the new Tan Tock Seng Hospital Medical Tower, and the redevelopment of the National University Hospital (NUH) in Kent Ridge are the first few projects to tap HFDS.

Ward layouts under HFDS, seen by The Straits Times, are made up of standard grids of 8.4m by 8.4m, with each bed and the space around it fitting into this grid. Such a layout allows for "easy reconfiguration of internal spaces without major structural changes while supporting future renovations, expansions or technology upgrades".

The framework allows for three standardised general wards A class with one bed, B1 class with four beds, and B2 or C class with six beds.

Existing B2 class wards have either five or six beds. For C class wards, the number of beds ranges from five to 12, based on online checks.

HFDS was developed by MOH Holdings (MOHH) and all three public healthcare clusters, and drew from the best practices and lessons learnt from past projects.