Letter of the day New price-quality way to allot clinic space a bold move

I applaud the decision by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Housing Board (HDB) to use a new system for allotting clinic space to family physicians (MOH, HDB to trial tender approach evaluating both price and quality for Bidadari clinic, May 8).

- Desmond Wai (Dr)

In the past, allocation of clinic rental spaces was by price alone, and the clinic willing to pay the highest rental won the bid. It was a fair system but, unfortunately, some clinics put in unrealistically high prices to win.

After that, the clinics would then need to ensure they made enough money to pay for their high rent, sometimes at the expense of clinical care and service standards.

The new system prevents this. Clinics would need to lay out a plan for better care and service to win the rental allocation. This is a bold move in the right direction.