History
Tan Tock Seng Hospital was built as a hospital for the poor in the Chinese community. Today, TTSH remains committed to it legacy of compassion, philanthropy and care and its duty as a people’s hospital.
A pauper's hospital, the precursor of the Singapore General Hospital set up in 1821 by the British government, was in the 1830s beset with problems due to lack of funding. Tan Tock Seng donated $5000 to set up a hospital for the poor.
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| The old TTSH |
Though, the hospital’s foundation stone was laid on 25 July 1844, the paupers were only moved into the building in 1849!
What happened in between during this five years gap?
After the construction was completed in 1846, contrary to the community’s expectations, the government used the building as a temporary prison. To accommodate the diseased and the poor, an attap shed was built at the foot of Pearl’s Hill. It was used as a prison for about a year before the inmates were transferred out of the hospital building and housed at the newly built civic jail behind Pearl’s Hill in 1847.
Regardless of the petitions made by Chinese merchants to move the paupers out from the attap shed to the designated hospital building, it did not happen immediately. In 1849, a tropical storm blew down the pauper's shed. It was then that the government had no choice but to move them to the hospital building.
It was only in 1849 that the hospital started to operate to the founder’s main intention: to care for the sick and destitute of all races.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital was the first hospital to be built totally from private funds.
Below, is the picture of the remaining old TTSH which is opposite the current TTSH. Both the first and second old TTSH buildings were demolished ages ago, while the third building is still around, on the hill of Moulmein Road. The forgotten pale blue hospital had served the community well from 1909 to 1999. It is now renovated and converted into the new LKC Medical Centre.
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| The remaining old TTSH @ Moulmein Road |
Trivia
During World War II, the Japanese took over the hospital for their military use and renamed it as “Hakuai Byoin”, which means “Universal Love Hospital”. TTSH was converted back as a civilian hospital immediately after the war.
TTSH also had a TTSH Sports club back in the 1980s. Besides Athletics, TTSH Sports Club also made up of other sports teams such as soccer, sepak takraw, badminton, table tennins, netball, swimming, and also badminton. Some of the teams utilized the Multipurpose court to train. It was located adjacent to the Nursing Hostel, which was around the current Foot Care and Limb Design Centre area. They also owned a football field, which stretched from the current TTSH's main lobby all the way out to the front of the hospital. It was later absorbed by the Human Resource Department and is presently known as HR Wellness.
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| TTSH Sports Club |
