Appointment Overview

​Request Appo​intment

Our specialist clinics at NSC provide outpatient consultation services for patients referred both by primary health care physicians and specialists in the private and public sector. Consultation at our specialist clinics is strictly by appointment. You can make, change or cancel your appointment:

• by calling our Appointment Call Centre at telephone number +65 6350 6666
  
• through your family doctor 
  
• through government polyclinic or hospital referral
  
• via our Online Appointment Booking Forms (see Other Ways to Make/Manage Appointments above)
• existing patients who have registered at NSC before are also able to MAKE, CHANGE or CANCEL your appointment online, via real-time appointment systems (see ​​​​​Real-time Appointment Booking above)
  

Appointment booking for subsidised patients

To qualify for government subsidy, you must be a Singaporean or Permanent Resident of Singapore referred to NSC by doctors from subsidised clinics of a public health institution or polyclinic, or from an SAF medical officer/camp. Please note that the first NSC consultation appointment will have to be made and confirmed by the referring institution on behalf of the patient. Such referrals are not applicable for consultations at the non-subsidised clinics. There is usually a waiting time for our subsidised consultation appointment.

Appointment booking for non-subsidised patients

If you would like to be seen in the non-subsidised clinics, you can make an appointment directly with NSC. You can also be seen as a non-subsidised patient via a referral from a general practitioner or a private hospital. For more information on subsidies, you may refer to the page on General Clinics.

Our Centre is happy to offer a SMS or Email Reminder service to remind you of your next appointment with us. If you wish to receive such reminders, please inform one of our staff during your next visit and indicate your preferred mode of reminder. The reminder will be sent 7 days prior to your scheduled date of appointment.

We would also like to seek your understanding that this SMS/Email reminder is a value-added service, and it is still ultimately your responsibility to keep to your scheduled appointment. 

Long waiting time for consultation with our doctors is one of the most common complaints by our patients. Patient management in this area has had limited success primarily due to no-shows, over booking to compensate for no-shows, poor compliance to appointment time and walk-ins (patients without prior appointments) 

In order to serve our patients more efficiently, NSC introduced an Appointment Booking Deposit and a walk-in fee for walk-in patients with effect from 1 April 2001.

We appreciate your patience

We value our patients and know time is valuable. We are always looking for ways to improve our waiting time and manage the rapid growth of new patients. It may seem that you are waiting for a long time or that patients who arrive after you are being seen first. Please understand that patients may not be called in the order they arrive at our clinic, due to other treatments/laboratory tests performed prior to their arrival at the clinic.

Urgent Cases Without Appointment

NSC sees patients by appointment only. We make every effort to provide prompt medical care to all of our patients. If you arrive in our clinic as a walk-in, please understand that you may be asked to schedule an appointment for a different day. Should you require urgent medical assistance, you may seek immediate medical attention from your family physician (GP clinics or the nearest polyclinic). Alternatively, if you choose to approach our Centre for specialist attention, please note that:

• You will be assessed by one of our nursing staff. If an immediate medical attention is identified, arrangement will be made for you to be seen by one of our doctors.
• Given this special arrangement, the wait for the next available consultation is necessary.
• There will be a Walk-in Fee of $20.
• If the condition does not require an immediate medical attention, you may be offered the next available appointment date. The referring procedure and appointment deposit will apply.

Open Date Expiry

If you have not visited the clinic in the last 2 years, your open date will expire and your next visit will be considered a First Visit and you will be c​harged at First Consultation rate.

If you wish to continue to be treated at the subsidised clinic, you must obtain a fresh referral from the polyclinic or subsidised clinics from a public health institution. Otherwise you will be charged at non-subsidised rates.

On your first visit to the specialist clinic, please bring the following documents for registration:

• NRIC/ Birth Certificate (if you are below 12 years old)/ Passport/ Employment Pass/ Work Permit / Student Pass
• Referral letter from Polyclinic / GP Clinic / hospital (if any)
• Any medical benefit identification documents (e.g. Civil Service Card, Medical Benefits Card, etc) 

Please keep to the appointment given but should you need to change it, remember to notify our Appointment Call Centre at least 3 working days beforehand. (Please see terms and conditions under Forfeit of Appointment Booking Deposit) Our Appointment Call Centre is open from 8.00am to 5.00pm on Mondays to Fridays.

Appointment Booking Deposit

All patients have to pay an appointment booking deposit of $10 for follow-up appointments. This will be collected in advance on top of any bills for the current visit when a follow-up appointment is given. This deposit is payable upfront, and not chargeable to company account or MCPS, as it is REFUNDABLE* when patients return for their scheduled appointments.

Why The Need For Appointment Booking Deposit?

The appointment booking deposit is to discourage “no-show” and to prevent unnecessary bookings of appointments. When a patient does not show up for their scheduled appointment, another patient misses an opportunity to receive medical attention. The deposit ensures that patients keep to their appointments or cancel / re-schedule within ample time to free up more appointment slots for those in genuine need.

*Refund of Appointment Booking Deposit

Your appointment booking deposit will be refunded when you:

• Turn up for your appointment as scheduled, and
• Are given an open date (no fixed appointment) or
• Are discharged from follow-up

Forfeit of Appointment Booking Deposit

Your appointment booking deposit will be forfeited if you:

• Fail to show up on your follow-up appointment (ie “no show")
• Fail to re-schedule or cancel your appointment, 3 working days in advance of your appointment due date.

Re-scheduling Or Cancellation Of An Appointment

If you are unable to make your appointment, we respectfully ask that you notify us at least three working days in advance. If you reschedule or make a cancellation at least three working days in advance of your appointment date, your booking deposit will not be forfeited. For example, your cancellation request of a Tuesday (26th) appointment should reach us by Thursday (21st).

Non-Payment Of Appointment Booking Deposit

If you choose not to pay the appointment booking deposit, you will not be given a fixed appointment, but an open date. You may call up for an appointment when you need one.

Waiver Of Booking Deposit

The appointment booking deposit will be waived if you are on Public Assistance or Medifund Assistance.

Late For Appointment

If you arrive late for your appointment, you will need to wait longer for consultation as patients who are punctual will be given priority.

If you arrive after the clinical session, you will be given another appointment for which the booking deposit will apply.

Please note that if you choose not to see the doctor on the day by virtue of being late, the booking deposit will also be forfeited.

NSC Penalty Rebate For Long Waiting Time

A $10 rebate on consultation fees is extended to our patients who had paid the appointment booking deposit and arrived punctually but had waited longer than target time of 75 minutes for consultation.

Definition of Waiting Time for Consultation

From appointment time to first contact with a doctor.

For patients who arrive earlier then their scheduled appointment time, their waiting time starts from their scheduled appointment.

Patients who arrive more than 20 minutes later then their appointment time will not be entitled to claim for the penalty rebate.