Retirement in SG?

[AngelJoy]

The first thing that popped into my mind was the phrase "It’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there". Singapore is way to urban for me. I need room to breathe.

this

?

means i totally agree to the quoted.

[Muslima70]

Hope I've done this right.

Who is thinking of retiring in Singapore?
Any comments along with your vote are welcomed

Uhm maybe you should have put another option? "Don't have a choice..Im stuck here."

as for me I actually don't mind going to malaysia esp sabah/sarawak...but relocating my parents there may not be so easy given their age
so i guess i may be stuchk here..then again who knows...

[ksl]

While expensive compared to some countries, Singapore has good health care options. This definitely gets more important in retirement.

You keep believing that and you are not going to live very long at all! Give me an Indian or even Malay specialist living in a very large community where experience is first hand with many many patients, than a specialist that has worked in a Country of 4 million, without any overseas experience, logic should tell you that you are not getting the best medical health. Unless you are getting the best specialists and the best specialists are not always Singaporean far from it! So I definitely do not agree with your assumptions and neither would my Singaporean brother in law.

Priority in Singapore health care is of a business nature first, especially if you are a foreigner or even a PR, you better have very very deep pockets as the merry go round of diagnostic treatment is a long and tedious task, that takes every step to ensure you take the longest path to the same result.

Every specialist wants a piece of the action in Singapore, because its a cash cow business. Ask any local low paid Singaporean that doesn't have sufficient funds to cover their medical problems. They have to do without!

You get a much better service and health care in Taiwan for only a fraction of Singapore cost, though i do agree, you will not get the same kind of accommodation, or the modern facilities. You will get the best health care as they do not have excessive fees because you are a foreigner like in Singapore

This Country is only geared to empty your pockets it's for rich tourists and it is also marketed in a way for high quality tourist treatment that are stupid enough to pay for it.

Thailand is also on the same path hence you pay more than other Countries that do not tout Health care for overseas clients with special prices, for luxury accommodation, it may look impressive. The best doctors and specialists don't always sell their souls for money, they are much more concerned with health-care first.

I know that my angiogram was the most painful experience I have ever had, and I did complain about it...they apologised that they didn't give me enough local anesthetic, so when they was withdrawing the camera, it was like getting kicked in the balls for an hour A so called painless invasive operation anywhere else in the world and yes i was screaming obscenities. The problem is you pay specialist fees and get an assistant to do the work after all they have to get the experience too, that's said to be very cost effective.

[k1w1]

I never said the nationality of the doctor was important. The medical training is, for sure, but who cares where they're from? (However, if you want to look at it this way, then I recommend you stay away from all doctors from New Zealand then, as they only come from a country of 4 million too. ) I saw some fantastic local doctors in Singapore. I had a terrible experience with a specialist at Gleneagles once, and she was trained in the UK.

I was expecting that expats would have full and comprehensive medical insurance, so yes, I was talking about the doctors and specialists in private hospitals. I know first hand this comes with a very hefty price tag. Have you tried to get specialist treatment in a country with state-funded health care lately? There is no way a foreigner could/should be relying on something like this anyway.

[ksl]

I never said the nationality of the doctor was important. The medical training is, for sure, but who cares where they're from? (However, if you want to look at it this way, then I recommend you stay away from all doctors from New Zealand then, as they only come from a country of 4 million too. ) I saw some fantastic local doctors in Singapore. I had a terrible experience with a specialist at Gleneagles once, and she was trained in the UK.

I was expecting that expats would have full and comprehensive medical insurance, so yes, I was talking about the doctors and specialists in private hospitals. I know first hand this comes with a very hefty price tag. Have you tried to get specialist treatment in a country with state-funded health care lately? There is no way a foreigner could/should be relying on something like this anyway.

Has a matter of fact I spent thousands of $ at Mount Elizabeth because i knew i had a heart flutter, but after several diagnostic tests, they gave me a sound bill of health, in fact I had ECG's, Ultra Sound and treadmill tests, only to have an heart attack several weeks later, when i went back and complained, I was told the tests she put me on where not reliable as there are far too many variables involved.

So I said so what is the only way to tell if there was a problem. MRI scan was the answer, so why put me on the tests in the first place! Procedures and money, she admitted it, that is the procedure to pay for each diagnostic testing even though its unsafe.

I don't wish to offend you, but I certainly do not agree with your claims that Singapore health care is good, and I also disagree with your claims of NHS in general, based on the fact that, good doctors are just like mechanics, you either get a good one or a bad one, and it really does depend on the amount of experience one does have, and also the fact they are motivated to do a good job.

One cannot say one hospital is better than the other one, all the heart specialists in Mount Elizabeth have done their training through Singapore General Hospital, it doesn't make them better or worse than the doctors at Singapore General, So i cannot fathom for one minute how you can conclude that Singapore has good health care, yes it looks good, and yes it's expensive, so you actually think the more you spend the better it is.

Your logic is quite disturbing, some of these specialists here are cold arrogant, and totally indifferent, in fact one that has been treating me the last year, thinks i reside in Malaysia, I said hello don't you read my medical records, bloody idiot and yes i refused to pay him, because i had no idea, why the appointment was made, as i had seen him several times and he couldn't help, as he was telling me things, i already knew was wrong. As i had been already to the same kind of specialist and already had the biopsy, so why would i need another biopsy. No offence to you, but i have been under 5 specialists here the last 2 years visiting every 6 weeks to 3 months and still i have no result.

Today i took another blood test, and the cost was $700, in total this year i have spent 2500$ just on blood testing and still no diagnostic result.

Have you tried to get specialist treatment in a country with state-funded health care lately? There is no way a foreigner could/should be relying on something like this anyway

As much as i hate to bust your bubble....even Singapore has state funded health care, for the poorest of the poor, and that would mean if you don't have the bread, you die.....So what you are insinuating is the fact everyone that cannot afford private medical care should just rot and die, that's a nice assumption you have there, very Singaporean I watched them reject a Thailand guy with a head wound from the emergency department, while i was there with suspected heart attack and overheard the nurse and doctor say he's got no money, so they cannot keep him in, they did clean it up though and discharged him on lack of funds.

When i asked why they didn't put a stent in my heart or even use the balloon, they said it's best not to disturb it, as the blood flow is still okay. 10k thank you very much, now after 1 year, I am expected to pay again for another angiogram, but there is no chance after such a painful experience here. I have asked in Thailand, Taiwan, and UK if the angiogram should be painful, and it shouldn't be at all, though like i said before it was a lack of anesthetic.

If i were you I would be a little more cautious of who is actually doing the work, as generalising that health care is better here or there, doesn't come into the equation, it's all down to the person prodding around and if they have had a bad day, or are unlucky to get a junior surgeon learning god help the patient

[sundaymorningstaple]

Doesn't sound like drinking so much vinegar is all that good for you......

[ksl]

Doesn't sound like drinking so much vinegar is all that good for you......

Actually auto immune problems are quite complicated though research will show that too many white blood cells is a problem vinegar cannot cure Leukemia, cancer who knows just yet, though why not just go straight to a biopsy, in stead of extracting $$$ when it all ends in a biopsy anyway And lets not forget that the heart medication caused the liver damage, I have already proved that through blood tests, as i told him today, I have had beer and the results show it hasn't effected the liver enzyme count only a year on the prescribed medication was showing allergy reactions that the specialist ignored, all he did was change the brands and the liver gradually started to scar the tissue...the heart medication and especially statin tablets are more toxic for liver, even i eventually discovered that on the Internet. So drug induced lupus was most definately caused by the specialist and i had warned him a year previously, that the allergies were getting worse.

I stopped all heart medication but 2 tabs and the liver enzymes dropped to were they have always been. So much for specialists peddling drugs and ignoring someone that is well informed about his own body.

[k1w1]

I never said the nationality of the doctor was important. The medical training is, for sure, but who cares where they're from? (However, if you want to look at it this way, then I recommend you stay away from all doctors from New Zealand then, as they only come from a country of 4 million too. ) I saw some fantastic local doctors in Singapore. I had a terrible experience with a specialist at Gleneagles once, and she was trained in the UK.

I was expecting that expats would have full and comprehensive medical insurance, so yes, I was talking about the doctors and specialists in private hospitals. I know first hand this comes with a very hefty price tag. Have you tried to get specialist treatment in a country with state-funded health care lately? There is no way a foreigner could/should be relying on something like this anyway.

Has a matter of fact I spent thousands of $ at Mount Elizabeth because i knew i had a heart flutter, but after several diagnostic tests, they gave me a sound bill of health, in fact I had ECG's, Ultra Sound and treadmill tests, only to have an heart attack several weeks later, when i went back and complained, I was told the tests she put me on where not reliable as there are far too many variables involved.

So I said so what is the only way to tell if there was a problem. MRI scan was the answer, so why put me on the tests in the first place! Procedures and money, she admitted it, that is the procedure to pay for each diagnostic testing even though its unsafe.

I don't wish to offend you, but I certainly do not agree with your claims that Singapore health care is good, and I also disagree with your claims of NHS in general, based on the fact that, good doctors are just like mechanics, you either get a good one or a bad one, and it really does depend on the amount of experience one does have, and also the fact they are motivated to do a good job.

One cannot say one hospital is better than the other one, all the heart specialists in Mount Elizabeth have done their training through Singapore General Hospital, it doesn't make them better or worse than the doctors at Singapore General, So i cannot fathom for one minute how you can conclude that Singapore has good health care, yes it looks good, and yes it's expensive, so you actually think the more you spend the better it is.

Your logic is quite disturbing, some of these specialists here are cold arrogant, and totally indifferent, in fact one that has been treating me the last year, thinks i reside in Malaysia, I said hello don't you read my medical records, bloody idiot and yes i refused to pay him, because i had no idea, why the appointment was made, as i had seen him several times and he couldn't help, as he was telling me things, i already knew was wrong. As i had been already to the same kind of specialist and already had the biopsy, so why would i need another biopsy. No offence to you, but i have been under 5 specialists here the last 2 years visiting every 6 weeks to 3 months and still i have no result.

Today i took another blood test, and the cost was $700, in total this year i have spent 2500$ just on blood testing and still no diagnostic result.

I'm not offended at all. Sorry to hear about your health issues. It sounds like you need to seek a second opinion or go to another specialist, quite frankly.

I definitely do not assume paying more means better care. Not sure where you got that idea. I was never one for spending a fortune on expat doctors or "international" clinics or whatever.

Experience of your doctor is important, I agree. But the population of their country does not mean they are necessarily inexperienced... If they work in large, busy hospitals or perform a particular surgery often, then surely that would be a better basis for deciding they were competent.

There are people in New Zealand who wait YEARS for their surgeries in state hospitals. Many die before they get there. My mum has recently been passed along the ol' hospital conveyor belt when she was having a suspected heart attack. She got sent home from the emergency room when they had got the pain under control, and was called back DAYS later for more tests. Luckily, it was a virus and not a heart attack...

[ksl]

yes I totally agree, as i was in UK when i had my attack, stayed in for 5 days and was told, that there was a waiting list for angiogram 3 months, and of course i needed to get on the plane....I just took the risk of flying and returned and in the end I didn't have the angiogram until 9 months later as my father in law was dieing in the hospital in Taiwan, when i went for the operation in Taiwan. Postponed the operation until I couldn't take the angina attacks anymore, rushed in 4 times to emergency in Singapore and decided I probably wouldn't make it back to Taiwan. So presto I opted for the 10K angiogram, no balloon as they didn't want to disturb the atherosis calcium build up. I had only lost 4% blood flow so actual heart damage was minimal thanks to my own fast reactions.

I think you are right, the size of country may be little, but its still down to the experience gained, though really the only time the best doctor will interfere is if one's life is seriously in danger, otherwise a junior doctor will be allocated the job under his supervision.

Like when you take the car to the garage, the mechanic charges full rate, and puts an apprentice on the job

[ksl]

double post! I think every experience is relevant and the topic isn't really wasted, I could just as well have a happy experience here in Singapore as anywhere, so I guess it is all down to luck on the day. Though Taiwan is much more cheaper, than even Thailand as they don't market private hospital facilities, but will except any foreigner, I stayed overnight though the nurses only communicate in Chinese, they do understand English.

[longstebe]

So far 18 people have voted.

12%
66%
22%

[revhappy]

I have voted as "Still too young to decide" as I am 31 afterall and would like to explore the world.

I can live without cars and do with HDB house but what I cannot do is take the chance of living without enough medical coverage and just like KSL has mentioned I have heard of several cases where doctors here have proved to be incompetent. Cases where doctors perform all kinds of unnecessary tests and go "by the book" rather than using intuition which comes with experience.

The insurance coverage provided by employers for people on local salary is hopelessly inadequate especially for their spouse and kids non existant. So that kind of uncertainity is not good especially when you grow older.

[x9200]

The insurance coverage provided by employers for people on local salary is hopelessly inadequate especially for their spouse and kids non existant. So that kind of uncertainity is not good especially when you grow older.

Why don't you take care of the insurance by yourself?