Speeches
Welcome Remarks by Dr Choong May Ling, Mimi, CEO, Health Sciences Authority at the Opening of the Bloodbank@One Punggol
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Consumer
Healthcare professional
Industry member
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Others
17 August 2023
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Guest of Honour, Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health
Dr Janil Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information & Ministry of Health and Pasir Ris-Punggol Grassroots Advisor
Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Permanent Secretary for Health
Prof Benjamin Ong, Chairman, Health Sciences Authority
Mr Tan Kai Hoe, Chairman, Singapore Red Cross
Mr Benjamin William, Secretary General, Singapore Red Cross
Guests and colleagues
1 Good morning everyone, and a warm welcome to all our blood donors and community partners who have joined us today for the opening ceremony of our new Bloodbank at One Punggol. Today marks an important milestone for our National Blood Programme. Bloodbank@One Punggol is the fifth Bloodbank to join our existing wide network of Bloodbanks at Outram, Woodlands, Dhoby Ghaut and Jurong East.
2 Blood donation is an essential part of our healthcare system. Every day, patients in Singapore rely on blood transfusions to stay alive through the generosity of our 75,000 regular blood donors. We know that many donors lead busy lives and it can be very challenging to find the time to travel to a Bloodbank that is far away.
3 Our data shows that in 2022, about 21% of our blood donors were residents in north-east Singapore. We have received many requests to open a Bloodbank in north-east Singapore. We hear you. Bloodbank@One Punggol is purpose-built to serve you. It is strategically located close to where you live, work, study and play. The many amenities and excellent public transport network were also key considerations for selecting this site.
4 The north-east region, which includes Punggol and nearby towns like Sengkang, is home to more than 900,000 residents and has a relatively young population. We hope to recruit more new and younger donors to help secure the long-term sustainability of our National Blood Programme.
5 We aim to make this new Bloodbank easily accessible and convenient by locating it close to the communities it serves. We also hope that with Bloodbank@One Punggol, many of you, your friends and family members will now be able to join us on this journey to donate blood regularly to save lives.
6 One such donor is Ms Saraswathy Devi. She was first exposed to blood donation at her junior college’s blood drive. At the age of 16, she and her friends made a spontaneous decision to give it a try. Since then, she has been donating regularly. As she resides in Hougang, she finds the location of Bloodbank@One Punggol very convenient for her to donate blood as part of her lifestyle. She hopes that more people residing in the Northeast region of Singapore will also be motivated to try out blood donation at Bloodbank@One Punggol, and make it a habit to donate regularly.
7 We have built Bloodbank@One Punggol with our blood donors in mind. We have designed it as a welcoming and comfortable space for you. It is spacious, bright and airy, with comfortable donation beds, and our friendly staff are here to support you every step of the way.
8 Bloodbank@One Punggol will operate from 12pm to 8pm on weekdays and from 10am to 5pm on weekends. It will close on Tuesdays. We have ensured that the five Bloodbanks close on different days of the week so that donors have convenient access to blood donation throughout the week.
9 I would like to take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt thanks to the People's Association for their support and collaboration in making Bloodbank@One Punggol a reality. A very big thank you too to all of our partners present here, for your unwavering commitment and support of blood donation over the years.
10 After this opening ceremony, I would like to invite all of you to join us for some refreshments, and then to take a tour of the new Bloodbank. Please allow us to show you everything that it has to offer, and we hope that new and regular blood donors in this region will be able to donate blood comfortably and conveniently at this Bloodbank.