The rest are from India (13 per cent), the Philippines (7 per cent), Britain (5 per cent), Australia (4.5 per cent) and Myanmar (3.5 per cent) as well as countries like Sri Lanka, China and Japan.

They include those on short-term attachments for teaching, research, or postgraduate studies. One in three is a specialist.

Most are in the private sector, with 430 - or 28 per cent - in the public sector, mainly in hospitals. The Health Ministry said only 6 per cent of those in the public sector work at polyclinics.

A reader who wrote to The Straits Times Forum Page recently said he was surprised to see a doctor from Myanmar at a polyclinic here. Noting that doctors from India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam could be found there, he asked why so few locals could be seen despite the high investment in training doctors.

Replying to queries from The Straits Times, a ministry spokesman said the foreigners help to make up the numbers needed in areas of shortage. Without them, quality of care would suffer.

They are found in both the SingHealth group, which runs the Singapore and Changi General Hospitals and KK Women's and Children's Hospital, and the National Healthcare Group, which runs the National University, Tan Tock Seng and Alexandra Hospitals.

The shortage of doctors was reported over a decade ago. Then in 1996, then-Health Minister George Yeo said bringing in foreigners would be the best short-term solution.

Up until two years ago, Singapore recognised degrees from only 24 foreign medical schools. Now doctors from 71 foreign medical schools can work here.

The National University of Singapore's medical faculty has also increased its annual intake from 150 in 1996 to 230 now.

Despite these moves, the shortages remain.

Member of Parliament Halimah Yacob, who heads the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, sees three reasons why: the population is ageing and older people need more health care; the aggressive promotion of Singapore as a medical hub is bringing more patients; and people have higher expectations of the health-care system.

While bringing in foreigners plugs the gaps, she says it is important that the quality of foreign doctors be equal to, or better than, that of those trained here.

A common complaint she has heard is that foreign doctors are not only unfamiliar with the various languages spoken here, but also the local cultures.

For example, some foreign doctors may frown on women who do not bathe after giving birth, or patients who take herbal remedies. 'Local doctors may be more sensitive and receptive to these local idiosyncrasies,' Madam Halimah said.

The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) requires all foreign-trained doctors to be placed under supervision for about three years (for specialists) and six years (non-specialists) before they can apply for full registration to practise here. The actual duration of supervision is pegged to how well a doctor performs.

Those whose basic degrees are not recognised here are registered only temporarily and have to obtain a postgraduate certificate from a recognised medical college.

Indian national Dr Manoj Kumar, 29, was a medical officer in a Mumbai hospital when he came across an online advertisement for a job in Singapore. He arrived here in January last year and is now working at Hougang Polyclinic.

He told The Straits Times: 'It's been an eye-opener working here and to experience a very different culture.'

Dr Kumar has started Mandarin and Malay classes so that he can connect better with his heartland patients.

'Communicating with patients here isn't as difficult as it may seem,' he says. 'Sometimes I try to speak their language, like Malay or Mandarin, sometimes they try to speak English.

'If we still cannot understand one another, we'll get an interpreter.'

He's also been making time to read up on the latest medical findings.

'People here are very educated and know their health needs,' he says. 'Sometimes they bombard you with all sorts of questions and information that they found elsewhere.'

Some of the foreign doctors here are people like cardiothoracic surgeon Nakao Masakazu, 31, a Japanese researcher at the National Heart Centre.

Coming here in May 2003 allowed him to see about 200 to 300 patients a year, a big increase from about 70 he used to see back home.

Contrary to what some believe, foreign doctors are not paid more - or less - than their Singaporean counterparts.

There is no difference in the pay structure for locally-trained and foreign-trained doctors in the public sector, but those on temporary registration receive less as they have to be supervised.

The Straits Times also understands that each doctor's remuneration package may be different and is mostly pegged to experience.

For some, coming to Singapore ends up being a long-term move.

Sri Lankan Dr Kuperan Ponnuduraie, 55, came in 1991, and is now head of the pathology and laboratory medicine department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

He picked up some Mandarin and Malay even before he came because 'patients will respect you if you can speak their language'.

Over the years he has found that most patients do not mind the nationality of the doctor so long as they feel their illness is being treated.

Six months after coming here, Dr Kumar found himself a wife, also a doctor from India who arrived at the same time that he did.

In April, their first child, a boy, was born. Now they're planning to apply for permanent residency.

'This is a great place to live. The country is clean, safe and the people are very welcoming,' he said.