Queenstown Polyclinic was officially opened on 13 January 1963. Located at Margaret Drive, this clinic started as a combined clinic to provide medical care for adults, as well as maternal and child health care. It was later integrated to form a polyclinic in the late 1980s.
There were several unique features to the structure of the polyclinic. Built in an era where air-conditioning is widely considered as a luxury, the open concept nature of the compound allow air ventilation so that patients do not have to be worried by the "hospital smell." Furthermore, there is very little external walls in the polyclinic. This directs patients to where they want to go, making the polyclinic very convenient and accessible.
Waiting area of the Polyclinic in the 1980s
The same waiting area today
Queenstown Polyclinic wasn't the busiest polyclinic in town. It served about 100 patients a day, well below the national average. However, many residents and ex-residents returned to this clinic for treatment although they have moved to other parts of the island. And one of this reason was the greenery in the clinic.
According to Mr Lim Kay Tong, an ex-resident in Margaret Drive, "There were many fruit trees within the polyclinic. I understood that those fruit trees were planted and taken care of by the staff themselves!"
Greenery around the Polyclinic
From December 2007, the Polyclinic has shifted to a new location in Stirling Road. Its previous compound was converted to a dormitory. When MyQueenstown Team arrive at the site, some of the traces were removed. Chairs, Waiting rooms and consultations were all removed and retrofitted into bunks and dining room for the foreign workers.
Queenstown Polyclinic was converted into a Dormitory
Consultation rooms (right) were converted into bunks
Do You still remember this waiting area?
And this familiar entrance?
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8 comments:
thanks for that post! i used to go to queenstown polyclinic when i was much younger. i dread the long waiting hours!
gosh, this brings back memories, I think the consultation fees is 50c. For medicine, you can recycle old glass bottles.
nice post!
history project!!!
Hi there, thank you for documenting the history of Singapore's first satellite town and buildings. I was researching about the earliest polyclinics and found this photo on the National Archives website. I thought it would make a nice addition to this page: https://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/photographs/record-details/bb287e92-1161-11e3-83d5-0050568939ad
Thank you for this - it's helpful for younger Singaporeans to learn about our history!
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