New chairmen for SingHealth, NHG

THE Minister for Health has appointed chairman of Wing Tai Holdings, Cheng Wai Keung, as the new chairman of the board of Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) for a three-year term starting July 1, 2021.

Meanwhile, Tan Tee How will assume the role of chairman of the board of National Healthcare Group (NHG) until April 14, 2024.

Mr Cheng has been a member of the SingHealth Board since August 2013 and serves on various private and public sector boards, including as deputy chairman of Temasek Holdings.

In a release issued on Friday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that Mr Cheng will lead the cluster's aim to enhance clinical outcomes through research, innovation and education, and to provide value-driven care to patients. In addition, "he will play a pivotal role in leading SingHealth through key infrastructure projects such as the redevelopment of the SGH Campus, and the new Eastern General and Community Hospitals, to ensure their timely completion."

With Mr Cheng as chairman, SingHealth is also "set to deepen strategic partnerships and collaborations to advance key priority areas", MOH said.

Mr Tan has been deputy chairman of the NHG board since April 1, 2019, and was also NHG's founding group chief executive officer (CEO) from 2000 to 2003. During his career, he has held key roles such as the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and CEO of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of National Development, and Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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MOH said: "Mr Tan will (advance) NHG's population health efforts for over two million residents in the central region and (scale) up NHG's integrated ecosystem of care."

He will lead NHG as it plays a critical role in MOH's efforts to curb the pandemic, with the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) at the heart of Singapore's response to Covid-19.

As chairman of NHG, he will accelerate transformational collaborations with local and global partners, as well as encourage translational growth in innovation, research and education with the NHG acting as the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine's primary clinical training partner, MOH highlighted.

Mr Cheng and Mr Tan will replace Peter Seah Lim Huat, outgoing chairman of SingHealth; and Kay Kuok Oon Kwong who led NHG, between 2009 and 2021.

In their respective roles, both of them oversaw major transformations in their clusters, including the public healthcare re-organisation exercise in 2017 and the development of their respective Regional Health Systems to integrate care with the primary and community care partners, MOH added.