A $10 million gift from The Ngee Ann Kongsi will fund a programme to support at least 8,000 TCM treatments for seniors with low or no income, train clinicians in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and support research to guide wider TCM adoption
NHG Health and The Ngee Ann Kongsi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today to advance integrative medicine in public healthcare through the establishment of The Ngee Ann Kongsi Programme for Integrative Medicine Excellence. Supported by a $10 million gift from the philanthropic organisation, the programme will run for five years and will be implemented across NHG Health’s Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), Woodlands Hospital (WH), and polyclinics.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by Guest-of-Honour Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies. The milestone event was also marked by the unveiling of a plaque acknowledging the gift.
The Ngee Ann Kongsi Programme for Integrative Medicine Excellence is a timely response to strong and growing demand for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in Singapore. About one in five adult Singaporeans uses TCM each year, with around 40 per cent of them using TCM alongside Western medicine.
Three Areas of Impact
The $10 million gift will be directed to three areas:
Patient care. The programme is expected to cover at least 8,000 TCM treatments for seniors with low or no income, starting with about 800 sessions a year and scaling to 2,400 sessions a year by the fifth year. Eligible patients will receive TCM therapies, such as acupuncture, alongside conventional Western treatment, aimed at helping them recover faster, manage pain with fewer medicines, and enjoy better quality of life. Outcomes will be tracked to build the evidence base for future developments in integrative medicine across all institutions.
Education. For a start, 12 healthcare professionals will be sponsored to study TCM, as part of NHG Health’s efforts to build and contribute to the local pipeline of clinicians trained in both systems of care. Doctors, nurses, therapists and TCM physicians will also be trained professionally through overseas study trips, bringing back skills that broaden quality integrative medicine options in the community.
Research. Up to six research projects will be seeded by NHG Health institutions together with academic and community TCM organisations in areas of high needs, for example in individuals requiring rehabilitation, geriatric care, and palliative care. Research findings will help shape treatment protocols and best practices so that more integrative medicine modalities can be considered for public healthcare.
The programme will be led by Professor Chin Jing Jih, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer (Clinical and Academic Development), NHG Health. Prof Chin said, “For a senior recovering from a stroke, care under Integrative Medicine might mean acupuncture alongside physiotherapy to ease pain and improve movement, hopefully resulting in fewer medications. This programme will enable us to rigorously evaluate how Western medicine and TCM can work together to improve care, particularly in rehabilitation, geriatrics, and palliative care. By finding appropriate use cases supported by good clinical evidence and translating the findings into practice, we seek to develop safe and effective integrative approaches that improve patient outcomes and are primed for wider adoption across healthcare in Singapore.”
A Shared Commitment on Integrative Medicine
The partnership brings together The Ngee Ann Kongsi and NHG Health, both with a strong record of caring for the elderly and the vulnerable. The Kongsi is deeply committed to supporting healthcare causes and operates two charitable TCM clinics to bring affordable and quality care closer to the heartlands, while NHG Health serves some of Singapore’s oldest precincts and the largest population of seniors as Regional Health Manager for Central and North Singapore.
Mr Tan Tee How, Chairman, NHG Health, said, “There are seniors who visit our hospitals, polyclinics and specialty centres increasingly turning to TCM and requesting care that respects that choice. This generous gift from The Ngee Ann Kongsi enables us to bring TCM and Western medicine together and administer it with the same standards of safety and evidence our patients expect. Our shared goal is to help our seniors recover well, live with less pain, and age confidently in the community.”
Mr Chia Chor Meng, President, The Ngee Ann Kongsi, said, “The Ngee Ann Kongsi is dedicated to giving back to the society. Singapore is now a super-aged society and it is more important than ever before to strengthen our medical and healthcare ecosystem for the benefit of generations to come. Through our partnership with NHG Health, we hope to broaden access to integrative medicine in public healthcare institutions and build a strong pipeline of practitioners who are equipped to carry this work forward. We hope this programme will make integrative medicine a standard way of how Singapore looks after its elderly.”
Building on NHG Health’s Leadership in Integrative Medicine
NHG Health has been a pioneer in integrative medicine in Singapore, steadily bringing TCM into the care its hospitals deliver as a complement to Western medicine and as part of its drive to add healthier years to life. TTSH, its anchor hospital, is home to Singapore's largest integrative medicine facility in a public hospital. Its Complementary Integrative Medicine (CIM) Clinic, established in 2003, offers specialist outpatient TCM services which include acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, laser acupuncture and cupping, with TCM physicians working alongside hospital clinicians. Beyond outpatient care, TCM physicians also see patients in the inpatient setting at TTSH and its Integrated Care Hub as part of their recovery and rehabilitation.
Building on this foundation, KTPH established a dedicated Traditional Complementary Integrative Medicine (TCIM) Clinic in 2026, bringing integrative medicine closer to residents in the North of Singapore. The clinic has consolidated and expanded the acupuncture services, led by acupuncturists registered with the TCM Practitioners Board, that KTPH provides since 2014. Today, it offers acupuncture and related therapies such as auricular acupuncture, heat therapy and electroacupuncture to specialist outpatients and inpatients across KTPH and Yishun Community Hospital (YCH). TCIM physicians work alongside multidisciplinary teams, integrating care for patients with chronic pain, musculoskeletal conditions, neurological disorders, men’s and women’s health, cancer-related symptoms and mental wellness.
WH is similarly committed to this endeavour. In April 2025, within a year of WH’s opening, it introduced acupuncture services for specialist outpatients. The service supports patients with pain-related and musculoskeletal conditions and complements conventional medical treatment through collaboration with specialist teams.
In 2025, TTSH partnered Nanyang Technological University, Singapore to train TCM undergraduates in hospital settings and study the role of TCM in pain management, symptom relief and rehabilitation. This collaboration creates opportunities to co-develop evidence-based practices in TCM and integrative medicine, supporting academic health excellence through dedicated research initiatives and clinical trials.
The new Ngee Ann Kongsi Programme for Integrative Medicine Excellence extends this strong foundation, focused on making integrative medicine a recognised standard of care across NHG Health’s hospitals and beyond, and providing seniors with more affordable and accessible options to manage their health in Singapore.
