SINGAPORE: Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh had good news for the residents of Kaki Bukit on Monday (March 11). He told them that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has confirmed that the Kaki Bukit Polyclinic and Nursing Home will begin in the year’s second half.
Mr Singh announced this update from MOH in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon. Kaki Bukit is part of Aljunied GRC, which the WP has held since 2011. WP vice-chair Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap represents the ward in Parliament.
The WP head also took the time to respond to residents who commented on the post and asked questions.
When one commenter wrote that polyclinics are no longer inexpensive and said that his “normal diabetes check-up cost $340,” Mr Singh later asked the man to send him the bill via email so that he could review it.
The commenter later added that the bill included six months of medication, which is presumably why it was higher than he was used to.
Others asked whether the new polyclinic would be like those in Punggol and Bedok, which have eateries and other shops, including a grocery or mini-mart.
Mr Singh replied that, as far as he is aware, this is not part of the plan for the new facility and explained why:
“The Kaki Bukit Polyclinic will look more similar to the new Eunos Polyclinic at Chin Cheng Ave. And there is good reason for this. Eunos is a mature estate and there are already neighbourhood facilities such as eateries and mini markets in the area.
Understandably, the planning considerations for new and mature estates are different,” he wrote in one comment.
Many netizens greeted the update as “great news.”
Last month, Mr Singh wrote about a number of current and upcoming construction works at Eunos, but added that residents should not “hesitate to send me your feedback on any matter whatsoever pertaining to these works or other issues at pritam.singh@wp.sg.”
In that post, he had said that construction on the polyclinic, nursing home, and the Kidney Dialysis Centre along Jalan Damai in front of Blk 125 Bedok Reservoir Road would also be starting soon.
“Budget 2024 has allocated S$11.6m for construction work this financial year compared to about S$1.9m last year. Residents would recall that this facility was slated to be ready by 2025 but COVID-19 prompted some design rethinking from the Ministry of Health,” Mr Singh wrote, adding that MOH has estimated that the completion will be delayed by one year to 2026. /TISG
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