Paul Tambyah says Ong Ye Kung will face huge challenges

[JohnTan]

The reality with healthcare is that it is getting too expensive.

The drug costs and imaging costs and overall admin costs continue to increase.

Clinical staff wise is ok the costs have only matched inflation. Drs and nurses will still join the profession even if the pay is low. It is a privilege to serve.

I think perhaps the government should slash the payroll for drs and nurses by 25%. Use that money to offset the rise in costs in all other areas.

Dont worry about the drs and nurses they will get on just fine. They wont know what else to do. Lol!

It is not like Drs and nurses can choose to do something else or switch careers. Sure they can go private but cutting the govt salaries will also benefit the pte sector as there will be more supply of drs and nurses. Overall cost of healthcare will drop.

Drs and nurses are regulated. Meaning they have to provide standard of care. Having lower pay doesnt mean they can neglect that.

Eventually I envision drs and nursing to be a close to minimum wage position and the people working in those roles will be doing it more because they wish to serve than for money. It will make for a better healthcare system.

Healthcare is only expensive when the country's health insurance system is fucked up, like in the United States.

In Singapore, thanks to Medishield, CHAS and other schemes for the senior citizens, healthcare here in Singapore is affordable.

 

[nayr69sg]

Healthcare is only expensive when the country's health insurance system is fucked up, like in the United States.

In Singapore, thanks to Medishield, CHAS and other schemes for the senior citizens, healthcare here in Singapore is affordable.

Affordable for the end user or affordable to the government or affordable to society?

Nobody wants to pay for healthcare. Nobody. Especially at the rates right now.

What people would much prefer is for healthcare to be free.

Free as in totally no cost. Volunteer. Donations.

Like how much it costs patients to get healthcare when they go to medicine sans frontier in Afghanistan.

Free. No cost to governments. No cost to tax payers.

Let those who practice medicine do it for the privilege to serve. Not money.

If we have his policy brilliant people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg will become doctors and serve. They will also make donations to the system to help people.

It will be a more robust altruistic system with more confidence and trust.

Look at the current system. So many people do not trust it.

I would abolish profit driven medical research as well.

You want to research new drugs and treatments? It has to be zero profit.

 

[JohnTan]

What people would much prefer is for healthcare to be free.

Free as in totally no cost. Volunteer. Donations.

Healthcare can never be free. Someone has to pick up the tab. Hospital staff needs to be paid, medical supplies need to be bought.

If you want free medical care, try the free clinics or TCMs runned by the chink clan associations.

If we have his policy brilliant people like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg will become doctors and serve. They will also make donations to the system to help people.

Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk recently blew billions of dollars each to fly into space for a few minutes. That money could have instead paid for your free medical plans for a year in Singapore.

Look at the current system. So many people do not trust it.

You are living in your little world of paranoia. Vast majority of people in Singapore trust the medical system here. Look at how busy our polyclinics are in the morning each day.

I would abolish profit driven medical research as well.

You want to research new drugs and treatments? It has to be zero profit.

That's not how R&D operates, be it in the medical or commercially driven enterprise. Even in commie China, advancement in the medical field due to AI, genome sequencing or telemedicine is possible thanks to profit driven R&D.

 

[nayr69sg]

@JohnTan

The world has changed. With medical research, these days it is very very difficult to run trials because of all these requirements to be safe before you can do human trials.

Chicken or egg. If we know it is safe then why the trials? The trials are to see if it is safe. But the ethics and safety boards say it must be safe before you can run the trials.

A good example is this covid-19 vaccine. If not for covid this vaccine would have never been made and never been allowed to trial.

As you rightly pointed out, there are lots and lots of rich businesses and businessmen that can donate money for healthcare.

In fact they already do. They have hospitals and medical schools named after them.

In the old days the medical professionals especially drs belonged to the elite nobles. Did they do medicine for the money as a living? No. They did it for the prestige and privilege to serve fellow men and women.

Let's go back to those days I say.

Now with the current medical technologies we have it is already good enough. How long should people live till? I think what we have now is good enough. In fact if you look at the 'Challenges with the aging population" I'd say people are living too long. All these old age homes. Care for elderly. It is a heavy strain. We all die eventually. Why must the journey be so long and arduous for the average person?

A world where people died at age 65 would release a lot of resources for the rest of the world.

There are children starving in Africa. There are people dying from treatable illnesses in the undeveloped world. Why? Meanwhile we spend all this money on unproven treatments and all kinds of heroic therapies to prolong the lives of 70 year olds.

Does it make sense?

It was a mistake to open medical science to the average lower SES people.

Many have looked at it as lucrative careers. $$$$. Same with the drug companies. $$$$.

Healthcare should no be such.

Don't con young people into doing medicine with the allure of lucrative rich monetary rewards. You attract the wrong people. Go talk to administrators of medical school programs all around the world now. Many will tell you a lot of these young medical students are snowflakes. Why are they in medicine? You would be a fool to believe that ALL of them are altruistic and want to help people.

It is the same argument for politicians.

Let the privilege to serve your fellow man, heal the sick, comfort the suffering be the rewards and attraction to be Drs not money. In fact make it such that becoming a Dr would make you have to donate money and time. That way we will get only the best of the best entering medical schools for the right reasons.

 

[nayr69sg]

You are living in your little world of paranoia. Vast majority of people in Singapore trust the medical system here. Look at how busy our polyclinics are in the morning each day.

Do you go to polyclinic and wait hours to see the Dr? @JohnTan

The people going there do so to save $$$.

And they HATE. I repeat they HATE having to wait so long. They absolutely HATE it. And they make it known to the Drs and nurses.

In fact, because they wait so long, they spend that time thinking of ALL the things and problems they have and some write it on their phones and come into the room asking all those questions. Which only makes the consult even longer and thus the wait time even longer for the next patient.

What do the administrators do? They try to please the customers and whip the service providers. Over promise. Under deliver.

Expectations should be that you go to the donation run medical clinic. See the noble elite eg maybe Khoo Teck Phuat himself. Or the great Lee Kuan Yew. Or Dr Tony Tan. Well respected people. Free. No charge. You go there and wait. Wait till end of the day. Sorry no room. Come back tomorrow.

Seriously those days were better. People actually respected the Drs very much and trusted them with their lives.

 

[batman1]

Paul Tambyah says Ong Ye Kung will face huge challenges and Singapore healthcare system is under significant stress

Singapore — Incoming Health Minister Ong Ye Kun will face “huge challenges” because the “Singapore healthcare system is under significant stress”, says Dr Paul Tambyah in a Facebook post.

Dr Tambyah, chairman of the Singapore Democratic Party, is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the National University of Singapore and president-elect of the US-based International Society of Infectious Diseases.

He expressed his concern about the Singapore health system in reply to an article by Lianhe Zaobao.

IF u don't have a big head,don't wear so big hat.

 

[rocket]

Oyk is being arrowed to be health minister and not he himself volunteered.

 

[tobelightlight]

Luckily opposition is not running the show now. People will blame PAP for any damn thing that surface from the vaccination and business failure. Next round of election will see opposition winning and taking over the govt.

 

[zhihau]

Oyk is being arrowed to be health minister and not he himself volunteered.

Vivi is more lucky in comparison, even after the YOG booboo.

 

[tobelightlight]

Many times i saw sinkies uncles auntie shunned healthcare professionals in lift and eateries.

Some 30 plus couples as well.
I walked up hold the lift for the nurses.

Sinkies are ungrateful and backless.

I highly suspect these are the ones who go vaccinated. Karma is coming.

 

[tobelightlight]

Thanks for posting these. At this critical juncture, sinkies desperately need respected and credible opposition like Dr Tambyah to speak out and be a beacon. Seeing how the pap has fucked up, playing with our lives and putting profits and politics first. If the pap has any sense or scruples, they would listen to the best people we have, regardless of party affiliation.

Let PAP screw themselves hard. Why help them. The more screw up they are, the more Singaporeans injured and die from vaccination, the more people will tulan the PAP. These are good times.

 

[myfoot123]

Luckily opposition is not running the show now. People will blame PAP for any damn thing that surface from the vaccination and business failure. Next round of election will see opposition winning and taking over the govt.

Opposition is dealing with CECA pandemic in Singapore. PAP and its crippling tripartite system is already damned whether it is pandemic or endemic.

 

[dredd]

Luckily opposition is not running the show now. People will blame PAP for any damn thing that surface from the vaccination and business failure. Next round of election will see opposition winning and taking over the govt.

Just like your prediction that Trump will be President again in August?

 

[rocket]

I highly suspect these are the ones who go vaccinated. Karma is coming.

These are the ones should get infected.

 

[mojito]

Do you go to polyclinic and wait hours to see the Dr? @JohnTan

The people going there do so to save $$$.

And they HATE. I repeat they HATE having to wait so long. They absolutely HATE it. And they make it known to the Drs and nurses.

In fact, because they wait so long, they spend that time thinking of ALL the things and problems they have and some write it on their phones and come into the room asking all those questions. Which only makes the consult even longer and thus the wait time even longer for the next patient.

What do the administrators do? They try to please the customers and whip the service providers. Over promise. Under deliver.

Expectations should be that you go to the donation run medical clinic. See the noble elite eg maybe Khoo Teck Phuat himself. Or the great Lee Kuan Yew. Or Dr Tony Tan. Well respected people. Free. No charge. You go there and wait. Wait till end of the day. Sorry no room. Come back tomorrow.

Seriously those days were better. People actually respected the Drs very much and trusted them with their lives.

Seriously if I sick I book appointment on line and arrive 10 mins before at poly clinic. Consultation, collection of meds and payment all done in an hour may be two. You lost touch lah bro.