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Ministry of Health (Singapore)

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Ministry of Health
Agency overview
Formed1955; 69 years ago (1955)
JurisdictionGovernment of Singapore
Headquarters16 College Road, College of Medicine Building, Singapore 169854
MottoChampioning a Healthy Nation
Employees1,573 (2018)[1]
Annual budgetIncrease S$11.72 billion (2019)[1]
Ministers responsible
Agency executives
  • Chan Yeng Kit,
    Permanent Secretary (Health)
  • Ng How Yue,
    Permanent Secretary (Health Development)
  • Kenneth Mak,
    Director-General of Health
Child agencies
Websitewww.moh.gov.sg
Agency IDT08GA0015H

The Ministry of Health (MOH; Malay: Kementerian Kesihatan; Chinese: 卫生部; Tamil: சுகாதார அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore responsible for managing the public healthcare system in Singapore.

Statutory boards

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Ministers

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The Ministry is headed by the Minister for Health, who is appointed as part of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent minister is MP for Sembawang GRC Ong Ye Kung from the People's Action Party.

Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Took office Left office Party Cabinet
A. J. Braga
MP for Katong
(1900–1968)
6 April
1955
3 June
1959
LF Marshall
Lim
SPA
Ahmad Ibrahim
MP for Sembawang
(1927–1962)
5 June
1959
24 September
1961
PAP Lee K. I
Kenneth Michael Byrne
MP for Crawford
(1913–1990)
24 September
1961
18 October
1963
PAP
Yong Nyuk Lin
MP for Geylang West
(1918–2012)
19 October
1963
15 April
1968
PAP Lee K. II
Chua Sian Chin
MP for MacPherson
(1933–2014)
16 April
1968
1 June
1975
PAP Lee K. III
Lee K. IV
Toh Chin Chye
MP for Rochore
(1921–2012)
2 June
1975
5 January
1981
PAP
Lee K. V
Goh Chok Tong
MP for Marine Parade
(born 1941)
6 January
1981
31 May
1982
PAP Lee K. VI
Howe Yoon Chong
MP for Potong Pasir
(1923–2007)
1 June
1982
1 January
1985
PAP
Tony Tan
MP for Sembawang
(born 1940)
2 January
1985
6 May
1985
PAP Lee K. VII
Richard Hu
MP for Kreta Ayer
(1926–2023)
7 May
1985
31 December
1986
PAP
Yeo Cheow Tong
MP for Hong Kah & Hong Kah GRC
(from 1988)
(born 1947)
1 January
1987
1 January
1994
PAP
Lee K. VIII
Goh I
Goh II
George Yeo
MP for Aljunied GRC
(born 1954)
2 January
1994
24 January
1997
PAP
Yeo Cheow Tong
MP for Hong Kah GRC
(born 1947)
25 January
1997
2 June
1999
PAP Goh III
Lim Hng Kiang
MP for West Coast GRC
(born 1954)
3 June
1999
31 July
2003
PAP
Goh IV
Khaw Boon Wan
MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC & Sembawang GRC
(from 2006)
(born 1952)
Interim until 11 August 2004
1 August
2003
20 May
2011
PAP
Lee H. I
Lee H. II
Gan Kim Yong[2][3]
MP for Chua Chu Kang GRC
(born 1959)
21 May
2011
14 May
2021
PAP Lee H. III
Lee H. IV
Lee H. V
Ong Ye Kung[3]
MP for Sembawang GRC
(born 1969)
15 May
2021
Incumbent PAP
Wong I

Incidents

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SingHealth data breach (2018)

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Between June and July 2018, personal data of 1.5 million patients was exfiltrated as a result of a cyberattack on SingHealth, which is the largest group of healthcare institutions in Singapore and is wholly owned by MOH.[4]

HIV data leak (2019)

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On 28 January 2019, sensitive information including names, identification numbers, phone numbers, addresses and HIV test results of 12,400 HIV-positive people were leaked online due to mishandling of the information by then-staff member, Ler Teck Siang.[5] Ler, who was the head of National Public Health Unit at MOH at the time, had access to the information and had not complied comply with Ministry of Health's security guidelines. Ler downloaded the information on to a personal thumb drive, which his then-boyfriend Mikhy K Farrera Brochez had leaked online subsequently.[6] Minister of Health, Gan Kim Yong, explained that data leak had not been announced earlier, so as to safeguard the patients' well-being.[7][8]

Community Health Assist Scheme computer system error (2019)

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On 16 February 2019, MOH released a public statement admitting that there had been an error in computer systems managed by NCS that were used in relation to the Community Health Assist Scheme (CHAS). The error resulted in a miscalculation of the amount of health care subsidies applicants were eligible to receive through means-testing, such that approximately 1,300 people received lower subsidies and 6,400 people received higher subsidies.

The first discrepancy in a result of a CHAS card holder was detected on 24 September 2018 by MOH. NCS was informed immediately. NCS had initially attributed the issue to intermittent network connection problems. Between 9 October 2018 and 2 November 2018, another 5 more cases involving discrepancies were detected, prompting the launch of a more in-depth investigation. In November 2018, NCS traced the cause of the discrepancies to a software version issue used on a server used by the system. The identified issue occurred during a migration of the system to another government data center in September 2018. The software version issue was resolved as part of other changes made to address an unrelated performance issue on 10 October 2018. However, incorrect results that had been generated between 18 September 2018 and 10 October 2018 remained in the system.

Remedial actions were then carried out by MOH and NCS to assess impact on the affected applicants. MOH announced that it would work with grant scheme administrators and healthcare institutions to follow up with notifications and reimbursement to the affected applicants. According to media reports, MOH intended to recover costs and expenses arising from this incident from NCS as MOH was entitled to pursuant to the contract between the parties.[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "MINISTRY OF HEALTH" (PDF).
  2. ^ Ong, Justin (28 September 2015). "Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announces Singapore's new Cabinet". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 21 June 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b Mahmud, Aqil Haziq (25 July 2020). "PM Lee announces new Cabinet; 6 office holders promoted, 3 retirements". CNA. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. ^ Tham, Irene (20 July 2018). "Personal info of 1.5m SingHealth patients, including PM Lee, stolen in Singapore's worst cyber attack". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  5. ^ "'I am sorry': Gan Kim Yong says health ministry providing support to HIV sufferers affected by data leak". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  6. ^ "HIV data leak: Mikhy Farrera-Brochez slapped with 3 charges by US grand jury". The Straits Times. 9 March 2019. Archived from the original on 11 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Gan Kim Yong explains why HIV Registry leak was not disclosed earlier, apologises once more". mothership.sg.
  8. ^ "Statement by Minister (Health) Mr Gan Kim Yong on the Unauthorised Possession and Disclosure of Information from HIV Registry". Ministry of Health. 12 February 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  9. ^ Ng, Huiwen (16 February 2019). "Chas subsidies for about 7,700 people miscalculated due to IT error: MOH". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
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