| 3 April 2008
Leadership changes in SGH and SNEC
Singapore, 3 April 2008 - Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), both institutions of the SingHealth group, will soon see changes in their top leadership positions. Professor Ang Chong Lye, 53, currently the Medical Director of SNEC, will take up his new appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of SGH on 1 May 2008, succeeding Professor Tan Ser Kiat. Professor Tan, 62, will continue to lead SingHealth as its Group Chief Executive Officer.
Professor Tan has been heading SGH since June 2003. Under his leadership, SGH became the second largest teaching hospital in the world to be accredited, in July 2005, by the Joint Commission International, a US body for standard setting and accreditation of healthcare institutions. The SGH Pathology Building, which will provide the much-needed capacity to cope with the rising demand for clinical investigations that will benefit patient care, has started construction and is expected to be completed by 2010. Nursing education also received international affirmation when the SingHealth Alice Lee Institute for Advanced Nursing, which has its roots in SGH, became the first institute in Asia and third outside America to be accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Centre.
“Infrastructure development projects and new facilities have taken place and re-shaped SGH services to patients in the last few years. We are entering a new period of growth and it is timely for SGH to have leadership renewal so that it can further re-invent itself to meet the needs of the ageing population. For SingHealth as a Group, we also want to realise our succession and talent development plans, creating opportunities to groom and equip our talent. Prof Ang is one such talent who is ready and has a proven track record in having taken our SNEC to a level of international repute. I am very confident that he will lead SGH well in this new era of healthcare and pave the way for winning collaborations between SGH and the specialty centres on Outram Campus as well as other international centres of excellence, to firmly establish our position as a world-class tertiary hospital committed to academic medicine. I am passing SGH to very good hands,” said Professor Tan.
On his new appointment, Professor Ang said: “With the changing landscape in healthcare, and the alignment of public policies to meet the needs of an ageing population, I’m excited by the opportunities to rethink patient care delivery in SGH and on Outram Campus. The priority is in how patients can benefit from greater integration of clinical services.”
Taking over from Professor Ang at SNEC is Professor Donald Tan, who is currently the Deputy Director of SNEC since 1997 and concurrently the Director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI). In both positions, Professor Tan has brought international repute to the two institutions and was recently awarded the National Medical Excellence Award – Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award. He said: “I look forward to the challenge of ensuring that SNEC continues to deliver the best possible yet cost-effective ophthalmic eye care in Singapore. It is also my wish that SNEC will continue to strive to be a leader in ophthalmic education and vision research, both at the regional and international levels.”
Please refer to the Annex for the bio-data of Professor Tan Ser Kiat, Professor Ang Chong Lye and Professor Donald Tan.
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Annex
Professor Tan Ser Kiat (陈思杰教授)
Prof Tan has a long-standing relationship with SGH (新加坡中央医院), having served as Head, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery from June 1988 to April 1995; Chairman, Division of Surgery from February 1992 to January 1998; and Chairman, Medical Board, in 1998. He was appointed Group CEO of SingHealth (新加坡保健服务集团) in 2000 when the public healthcare system was restructured.
Post-SARS in June 2003, it was felt that the potential for SingHealth institutions on the Outram Campus to deliver excellent patient care, education and research can be harnessed if all institutions work synergistically and in an integrated manner. The Group CEO of SingHealth was then concurrently appointed as CEO of SGH, thus giving him direct executive authority over National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, National Dental Centre, and Singapore National Eye Centre. Today, Prof Tan continues to spend part of his time practising as an Orthopaedic Surgeon.
Professor Ang Chong Lye (洪聪来教授)
As Medical Director of SNEC (新加坡全国眼科中心) since September 2000, Prof Ang has put the institution on the world map as a premier eye centre in Asia reputed for its clinical excellence and strong emphasis on continual medical education and research. SNEC has achieved rapid growth and is now responsible for 250,000 outpatient visits and 28,000 major operations and laser procedures annually. Concurrently a senior consultant of the Vitreo-Retinal Service at SNEC, he is also the Chairman of SERI.
One of his many accolades was receiving the Excellence for Singapore Award in 2003, set up by the Singapore Totalisator Board, in recognition of him leading SNEC in achieving excellence in the area of ophthalmology and for putting Singapore on the international map with eminence in the area of medical expertise. In 2001, he was conferred the prestigious Fellowship ad hominem – Distinguished Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburg and the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Outstanding Award, in recognition of his work on prevention of blindness. Prof Ang is also active in teaching activities, having conducted many regional and international teaching courses and live surgery demonstrations in China, Malaysia and Myanmar.
Professor Donald Tan Tiang Hwee (陈长慧教授)
Prof Donald Tan has been with SNEC since its inception in 1990. He has been holding the positions of Deputy Director of SNEC and Director of SERI (新加坡眼科研究院) since 1997 and 2000 respectively. Concurrently, he is also the Head, Department of Ophthalmology, at the National University of Singapore’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine since 2001.
Through his work at SNEC, Prof Tan has spearheaded several novel surgical techniques benefiting many blind patients. His contributions to the field of corneal transplantation, in particular, has led to Singapore being well recognised as a leading international centre for corneal transplantation surgery and innovative research. Under his leadership at SERI, the SNEC/SERI teams were the first in the world to report on a successful series of tissue-engineered cultured conjunctiva stem cell transplants. He has also been instrumental in the successful development of the Singapore Eye Bank, which led to the procurement of corneas for over 2,700 corneal transplants performed in Singapore to date. Prof Tan is also active in teaching and research, having trained many fellows from around the world and published several scientific peer-reviewed articles.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms Ong Shao Ying
Corporate Communications
Singapore Health Services
DID: 6557 4913
Email: ong.shao.ying@singhealth.com.sg
About Singapore Health Services (SingHealth)
SingHealth is the largest healthcare group in Singapore, offering a complete range of multi-disciplinary and integrated medical care. The group consists of 3 Hospitals, 5 National Specialty Centres, and a network of 9 polyclinics. We have a faculty of internationally qualified medical specialists and are also well equipped with advanced diagnostic and treatment medical technology. We are dedicated to providing quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible to our patients. Through clinical excellence, commitment, and collaboration, we aim to be the trusted leader in healthcare for our patients, partners, staff and the community.
Members of the SingHealth group:
Hospitals:
Changi General Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital and Singapore General Hospital
National Specialty Centres:
National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Dental Centre of Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, National Neuroscience Institute, and Singapore National Eye Centre
SingHealth Polyclinics:
Bedok, Bukit Merah, Geylang, Marine Parade, Outram, Pasir Ris, Queenstown, Sengkang and Tampines
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