SIT launches 4-year health-related degree programmes

SINGAPORE: From 2016, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will be launching four-year degree programmes in Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Diagnostic Radiography, and Radiation Therapy. The degree programmes will lead to a Bachelor of Science with Honours. This was announced by Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on Saturday morning (Nov 29) at a ceremony to mark an important milestone in the infrastructure development of Sengkang General and Community Hospitals. SIT will start with an initial intake of 235 students across the four programmes, before ramping up progressively. Mr Gan said that with Singapore's ageing population and rising rates of chronic conditions, training allied health professionals is important so that they have the skills and knowledge to offer patients better rehabilitative and preventive care. "To meet evolving healthcare needs, building more hospitals and adding more beds is not a sustainable long-term approach,” said Mr Gan. “We can no longer rely on a hospital-centric system as patients' needs become more complex, which also means they require longer-term care outside the hospital setting." Mr Gan added: "Through the regional health systems, patients will be better enabled to manage their own health and chronic condition so that they will remain well and avoid going to the hospital." With the launch of the new degree programmes, the existing allied health diploma programmes at the Nanyang Polytechnic will admit its last batch of GCE A-Level students in April 2015. Since 1995, over 2,200 allied health professionals have graduated from NYP. Meanwhile, the Sengkang General and Community Hospitals are on track to proceed with the next stage of infrastructure development. Both hospitals will add another 1,400 hospital beds to Singapore's healthcare system. Nationally, from now until end-2020, the Health Ministry will add over 11,000 more acute hospital, community hospital and nursing home beds.