Dr Ellen Tay

Dr Ellen Tay is a Senior Consultant in the Department of Child Development at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH). She graduated from the National University of Singapore in 1998, completed her Paediatrics training, and was accredited as a Paediatric Medicine Specialist in 2005.

After several years in private practice, Dr Tay returned to KKH in 2016 to pursue her interest in caring for children with developmental, behavioural, and learning needs. She is a strong believer in optimising child development and is deeply committed to helping children from low socio-economic status (SES) families. She supports families through a functional, holistic, and evidence-based approach, working closely with stakeholders in the early childhood and social sectors.

National Initiatives

Dr Tay served as the Medical Lead for the Early Childhood Holistic Outcomes (ECHO) Framework (2019 – 2025), a national initiative funded by the Ministry of Social and Family Development for more than 5 million. The Framework is designed to enhance Early Intervention programme quality and align practices with international, evidence-based standards. Since April 2024, she joined as the medical doctor for KidSTART, a national programme supporting young children from low-income families by focusing on enhancing early development, parent-child interaction, and coordinated care.

Collaborative Projects

​Collaborated with Assistant Professor Caroline Chandler, Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, utilizing the ECHO Framework national implementation as a case study for a course on Implementation Research and Practice in Maternal, Child and Family Health

• MMed Paediatrics (Singapore) 2002
• MRCPCH (UK) 2002
  
• MBBS National University of Singapore 1998
  

• Senior Consultant, Department of Child Development, KK Women’s and Children's Hospital
• Organizing Chairperson, Developmental Paediatrics Conference 2026
• Lead, Community and collaboration Workgroup 2025- 2026
• Adolescent Health Workgroup with Singapore Health Promotion Board (2006)
• Advanced Specialist Training Exit Preparatory Course (2005)
• Paediatrics Public Update (2005)
• Neonatal Jaundice Pathway work group(2005)
• Professorial Tutorials for MMED/MRCPCH Paediatrics (2003)
• Organising committee for MMED/MRCPCH Paediatrics (2003)
• Singapore Paediatric Society Since 2000
• Singapore Medical Association - member Since 1998

• Family Outcomes of the novel ECHO Framework implemented in Singapore’s early intervention program, Hong Huay Lim, Hwee San Low, Audrey De Cruz, Agatha Tan, Winnie Hwee Suat Goh, Ellen Tay Ghim Hoon, Lourdes Mary Daniel, Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, Sep 2025
• The Background of ECHO Framework, Ellen Tay, Teoh WeiQin, Early Childhood Holistic (ECHO) Practice Guide, 2024 Chapter 1, page 2-10
• Exploring the validity of the ASQ-SE for socio-emotional competency screening of a low-risk Asian cohort at 2 years of age, Pratibha Keshav Agarwal, HuiChao Xie, Anu Sathyan Sathyapalan Rema, Ellen Tay Ghim Hoon, et al, Early Human Development 2024 March.
• Parasomias & Sleep related movements disorders in Children. Ellen Tay, Jenny Tang 2008, A Clinical Guide to Common Sleep Disorders. In Sleep Medicine Chapter 26. P 196-. 200.
• Behavioral Sleep Problems in Children. Ellen Tay, Jenny Tang. 2008.. A Clinical Guide to Common Sleep Disorders. In Sleep Medicine, Chapter 27. P 201-209.
• Acute retention of urine due to prolapsing stoma in a case of anorectal malformation with bladder neck fistula. Tay Ellen, Tay J, Subramaniam R, Joseph VT. Pediatric Surgery International 2004 Oct ;20(10):809-10