| KK Women's and Children's Hospital | |
| SingHealth | |
|---|---|
| The facade of KK Hospital | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Little India, Singapore |
| Organisation | |
| Hospital type | Specialist |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Children's Emergency and Women's 24-Hour Clinic |
| Beds | 827 |
| Speciality | Women's and Children's Hospital |
| History | |
| Founded | 1858 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.kkh.com.sg/ |
| Lists | Hospitals in Singapore |
Formerly known as Kandang Kerbau Hospital, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (Abbreviation: KKH; Chinese: 竹脚妇幼医院; Malay: Hospital Wanita dan Kanak-kanak Kandang Kerbau) is now the largest hospital specialising in healthcare for women and children in Singapore.
From its humble beginnings as a small general hospital in 1858 to a 30-bed maternity hospital in 1924, KKH has grown into an 827-bed hospital providing obstetric and gynaecology, neonatology and paediatric services. Often affectionally referred to as "KK" amongst locals, it is the birthplace of a sizeable proportion of Singaporeans, delivering over half of total newborns in the country as early as 1938.
In 1966, the hospital entered the Guinness Book of Records for delivering the highest number of newborns within a single maternity facility for that year, and it continued to hold on to this record for a full decade, delivering 85% of the population year after year.
When the hospital moved to its present site, the old premises was marked as a historical site by the National Heritage Board, a tribute to an institution which has been the birthplace of over 1.2 million Singaporeans since its inception.
The hospital's name is Malay for buffalo shed ( kandang = shed / pen + kerbau = buffalo ), reflecting the area's link with buffalo rearing.
While the hospital started as one catering to health care for women, mainly for gynaecology and obstetrics, it had since expanded its role.
First, the paediatrics department was added for the care of the babies after delivery, but over the years it expanded into a full paediatric service, treating younger patients for all kinds of illnesses up to teenage. An offshoot, the neonatology service, was then added. Thus the expanded role of the hospital warranted a renaming to KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
Over the recent years, the scope of care has expanded even more to provide holistic care to women and children patients. It strives to become the "Healthcare Leader for Women and Children", which has become its slogan. New departments were added to the hospital. Paediatric surgery was first added, followed by others such as colorectal surgery, psychiatry and orthopaedics for women with illnesses requiring expertise in those areas.
As a result of a restructuring exercise in the local healthcare scene, the hospital became a member of the Singapore Health Services in 2000.
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