Singapore General Hospital

The Singapore General Hospital is the largest and oldest hospital in Singapore, which was founded in 1821. SGH ranked third as the best hospital in the world by Newsweek in 2019.

Block 4 entrance of the Singapore General Hospital

The hospital occupies a large portion of the eastern part of Bukit Merah. It shares space with the Singapore National Eye Centre, the National Heart Centre Singapore, the National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Dental Centre Singapore and the Duke–NUS Medical School.

Brief history

The hospital was established in 1821, when the first General Hospital was located in the cantonment for British troops near the Singapore River. The hospital moved several times before settling down at Sepoy Lines along Outram Road in 1882.

Modern history of the hospital began on 29 March 1926, with the opening of 800 beds. Today, only the Bowyer Block with its historically distinctive clock tower remains. The Bowyer Block is now home to the SGH Museum.

In the 1990's, the hospital was rebuilt and restructured to modernise the organisation of the hospital. The campus now houses its current 8-block complex housing in-patient wards, ambulatory and support services, research laboratories and a postgraduate medical institute.

The SGH Museum

The SGH Museum was officially opened by President S. R. Nathan on 20 May 2005. It is a repository of artefacts and records, where the long and rich history of the hospital can be traced. One can also learn about the development of medical specialties and medical education in Singapore at the museum.

Hepatitis C outbreak

In 2015, 22 patients in the renal ward were infected with Hepatitis C. 8 died in the outbreak.