Singapore's healthcare system must continually be adjusted as new disease patterns emerge.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong pointed this out at the National Heart Centre's (NHC) 10th anniversary gala dinner at the Ritz Carlton last night.

He said: "Fifty years ago, communicable diseases and diseases of early infancy were major killers. So, our average life span was 61 years.

"Now, with better public health and advances in medicine, our average life span has gone up to 80 years, and the leading killer diseases are cancer and heart diseases."

He warned that the country can expect "far larger volumes of chronic diseases such as diabetes". More attention must also be paid to mental illnesses including depression and anxiety because life will become even more fast-paced", as well as "illnesses associated with the aging population, like Alzheimer's".

Currently, the heart disease is the No. 2 killer here, after cancer. It accounts for almost 23 per cent of deaths here.

In this respect, the NHC, which Mr Goh praised for mending "many a broken heart", has helped save and improve the lives of many. It has earned a reputation as a leading heart centre in the region.

Moving forward, Mr Goh reiterated the importance for the nation's healthcare standards to "keep up with the rising aspirations of our populace, not just for ourselves, but also for the international talent which we want to attract to work and sink roots in Singapore".

At the same time, the country should strive to build "an affordable and accessible healthcare system premised not on high taxes and subsidies, but on high productivity and low wastage".

Source: My Paper © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.