The History of Our Hospital
Beginnings Under The British (1930s - 1940s)
1938: The British Military Hospital Is Constructed
- Chief Draughtsman Major J.W. Colbran leads Royal Engineers in the construction of the hospital, on a 32-acre site
1940: The Hospital Opens
- The British Military Hospital at Alexandra opens. The 356-bedder facility begins service as the main military hospital in the region for the British.
1941 - 1945: World War II Breaks Out
- The hospital expands to 550 beds, and supposedly stretches its occupancy to 900 patients at its peak, using makeshift beds during the war.
- About 200 staff and patients lose their lives in an attack by Japanese soldiers.
1945 - 1970: British Army Reclaims The Hospital
- The hospital continues to serve the British Military after the surrender of the Japanese in August 1945.
Transferring Services to Singaporeans (1971 - 2000)
1971: Handover to the Ministry of Health (MOH)
- An official handover ceremony from the British to the MOH takes place on 11 September 1971, with a token $1 note mounted in a frame given to the latter, as a symbolic gesture.
- The hospital gets renamed as Alexandra Road General Hospital, and reopens on 15 September 1971, serving as a general civilian hospital.
1975: First Major Surgical Breakthrough
- Dr. Leong Hin Seng leads a team and performs the first successful limb reattachment surgery in Southeast Asia on 12 April 1975.
- On 6 September 1975, President Benjamin Sheares opens Singapore's first self-dependency dialysis centre at Alexandra Hospital, in partnership with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF).
1994: First Geriatric Centre in Singapore
- The nation's first geriatric centre opens, with services comprising of a day hospital for the elderly, a geriatric ward, specialist outpatient clinic, and mobile services for the homebound.
1995: Part of The National University of Singapore's (NUS) Medical School
- Given the hospital's medical successes and distance to NUS, the NUS Medical School adopts the hospital as part of the campus, serving as an extension of its learning grounds.
1998: Establishment as a Historic Site
- On 15 September 1998, the National Heritage Board declares Alexandra Hospital a historic site, in recognition of the medical services it provided during World War II.
Advancements in the 21st Century (2000 - present)
2000: Restructuring of Alexandra Hospital
- Alexandra Hospital comes under the management of the National Healthcare Group (NHG), with Mr. Liak Teng Lit appointed as Chief Executive Officer.
2008: Establishment of Alexandra Health System
- The Ministry of Health Holdings (MOHH) establishes a cluster known as the Alexandra Health, announcing that both Alexandra Hospital and a new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital in northern Singapore would come under its management.
2010: JurongHealth Services Moves In
- The premises of Alexandra Hospital gets handed over to JurongHealth Services, serving as a holding site for a new Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH), slated to open in 2015 at Jurong East.
2014: Gazetting as a Conserved Building
- Alexandra Hospital becomes gazetted as a conserved building as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Master Plan 2014.
2015: Sengkang Health (SKH) Moves In
- Ng Teng Fong General Hospital begins operations at its new Jurong East site in June 2015, and the management of Alexandra Hospital gets taken over by SKH, acting as a holding site before their move to Sengkang in 2018.
2016: National University Health System (NUHS) Commences Planning for Alexandra
- In February 2016, the Alexandra Campus Development Team is formed by the NUHS, to commence master planning for a new Alexandra Campus, as well as the transition to take over Alexandra Hospital's facilities from Sengkang Health in the second half of 2018.
2017: NUHS Takes Over Two Wards
- NUHS begins services at Wards 2 & 3, taking over from Sengkang Health, in anticipation of a full takeover in June 2018.
2018: Healthcare Redesigned
- NUHS officially takes over the premises of Alexandra Hospital in June 2018, pioneering a new healthcare model in Singapore.
- The new model aims to provide patients with a more streamlined and hassle-free experience, delivered through singular team.
