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August 27, 2026

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From painkillers to acupuncture: Singapore’s public hospitals expand TCM use in acute care

Some hospitals are now offering acupuncture alongside conventional treatment for back pain, stroke recovery and cancer-related symptoms.

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Vanessa Lim

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SINGAPORE: A patient arriving at a hospital emergency department with severe acute back pain might expect painkillers, scans or physiotherapy.

But at some public hospitals, another option is increasingly entering the mix: Acupuncture.

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Changi General Hospital (CGH) now offer acupuncture, a form of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in short-stay units linked to their emergency departments, where selected patients with lower back pain can receive the treatment alongside conventional care.

Its use is also expanding beyond pain management into stroke rehabilitation, neurological conditions and supportive care for cancer patients.

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The expansion comes as the Ministry of Health (MOH) explores a larger role for selected TCM treatments alongside Western medicine in Singapore’s public healthcare system.

WHEN PAINKILLERS ARE NOT ENOUGH

At SGH, acupuncture does not replace conventional treatment for patients who arrive at the emergency department with back pain. They first undergo a medical assessment to rule out more serious causes and receive conventional treatment, including pain medication.

But for some patients whose pain remains inadequately controlled, acupuncture is now another option.

They can receive the treatment at SGH’s Extended Diagnostic and Treatment Unit (EDTU), a 23-hour short-stay unit linked to the emergency department.

Doctors assess whether a patient is suitable for acupuncture, taking into account factors such as pregnancy, needle phobia, bleeding risks and infection at the treatment site. Patients can also choose whether they want the treatment.

“Patients with lower back pain in the EDTU would already have received treatment and taken painkillers, but their pain levels may still be quite high,” said Ms Jeraldine Seah, who leads SGH’s acupuncture service centre.

“The purpose of introducing acupuncture is to help reduce their pain, improve their ability to walk, and enable them to be discharged earlier.”

SGH’s principal acupuncturist and lead of its acupuncture service centre Jeraldine Seah demonstrating the use of acupuncture at the hospital’s Extended Diagnostics and Treatment Unit (EDTU). (Photo: CNA/Vanessa Lim)

Since March, about 60 patients with lower back pain have received acupuncture at the unit. An initial analysis of 30 patients found their pain scores fell by more than 50 per cent on average after treatment, Ms Seah said.

Each session lasts about 45 minutes and is offered as a one-off treatment during the patient’s stay. Those who require further acupuncture can be referred to SGH’s outpatient clinic after discharge.

CGH has taken a similar approach. It has offered acupuncture at its emergency department short-stay unit since May 2022 for pain and acute symptom management. In January this year, acupuncture became part of the unit’s care protocol for patients with lower back pain.

FROM OUTPATIENT TO BEDSIDE

While acupuncture itself is not new to Singapore’s public hospitals, what is changing is its role within them.

SGH established its acupuncture unit in 1998, with lower back and neck pain making up the bulk of cases. Last year, they accounted for 49.6 per cent and 23.6 per cent of new patients seen by the hospital’s acupuncture service respectively, Ms Seah said.

The hospital is now increasingly shifting its acupuncture resources towards inpatient care.

About 4 per cent of its acupuncture patients are treated for stroke, while others receive treatment for neurological and gastrointestinal conditions, insomnia and anxiety, as well as side effects from cancer treatment.

In March, the hospital began taking acupuncture directly to patients’ bedsides, starting in a rehabilitation ward where many patients are recovering from stroke.

Previously, inpatients generally had to be brought to the outpatient clinic for treatment, Ms Seah said.

The new arrangement has made it easier for acupuncturists to collaborate with doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, she added. Referrals also come from neurology and internal medicine wards.

Since October 2024, SGH has also provided acupuncture at the National Cancer Centre Singapore, including supportive care for patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

From January to June this year, SGH recorded about 4,800 outpatient acupuncture visits and 390 inpatient visits.

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) has seen a similar evolution. When its TCM service was introduced in 2008, treatment focused largely on pain and musculoskeletal conditions.

Today, it also supports patients with neurological conditions, cancer-related symptoms and treatment side effects, stress management needs and general wellness concerns.

The traditional complementary integrative medicine clinic at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on Aug 21, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)

The hospital sees an average of about 6,500 TCM patient visits a year, said Associate Professor Ng Chong Jin, its clinical director of traditional complementary integrative medicine.

Its TCM team grew from three to five practitioners this year, alongside a sports physician who is also a registered acupuncturist.

KTPH also receives referrals from its emergency department and short-stay ward, although these patients are typically referred for outpatient acupuncture after they leave hospital.

Principal acupuncturist Zheng Huangfang at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital doing a traditional Chinese medicine consultation on Aug 21, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)

EXPANDING INTO MORE SPECIALTIES

The widening use of acupuncture comes as the government considers a bigger role for selected TCM treatments in mainstream healthcare.

In October 2024, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said Singapore should carefully incorporate certain TCM treatments into public clinics and hospitals, where they could eventually qualify for healthcare financing support such as subsidies and MediSave withdrawals.

At the time, such support was limited to acupuncture for lower back and neck pain.

Mr Ong also said MOH could use regulatory sandboxes to explore how Western medicine and TCM could work alongside each other in public healthcare institutions.

Some hospitals are already exploring what could come next. KTPH said it is exploring the potential use of Chinese proprietary medicines and moxibustion in selected care settings through TCM sandbox initiatives.

Principal acupuncturist Zheng Huangfang at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital demonstrating electroacupuncture on Aug 21, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)

A CGH study recently accepted for publication evaluated acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment for patients presenting with moderate acute asthma.

The findings suggest that acupuncture may provide an immediate improvement in patients’ symptoms and clinical condition, with the hospital admission rate falling by half among patients who received acupuncture.

At the National University Hospital (NUH), a committee was recently established to evaluate proposals for new complementary medicine initiatives and ensure they are clinically appropriate and safe.

Since February 2025, its urology department has offered weekly acupuncture to patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome whose symptoms persist despite conventional treatment. The therapy is offered alongside standard treatments as part of a multimodal approach.

More than 12,000 acupuncture sessions are conducted at NUH each year, with about 70 patients seen a day.

As the use of acupuncture expands, hospitals are also watching whether patients benefit.

CGH reviewed 43 patients who received acupuncture in its short-stay unit between 2025 and 2026 and found a significant reduction in pain scores of up to 80 per cent immediately after treatment, said senior acupuncturist Sim Ann Ling.

Patients also reported improvements in movement and mobility, including their ability to sit, stand, transfer and walk.

For hospitals, the approach is not about replacing conventional medicine with TCM, but identifying where the two can safely work together.

“As healthcare needs become increasingly complex, we see value in an integrative care model that leverages the strengths of both conventional medicine and TCM, allowing patients to receive more comprehensive, coordinated and patient-centred care,” said KTPH’s Assoc Prof Ng.