Imagine a place dedicated to new beginnings the Thomson Medical Centre. It stands on Thomson Road in Singapore. This 190-bed private hospital specializes in gynaecology and in vitro fertilisation or IVF. Thomson Medical Centre also runs a 24-hour outpatient family clinic. Specialist clinics add to its comprehensive services.
Thomson Medical Centre’s story began in 1979. Dr Cheng Wei Chen founded it. He wanted to make childbirth a pleasant experience for women. The hospital was built on his wife’s family bungalow site. A Yamaha Music School previously occupied an adjacent plot. Construction took nine months in 1978. Dr. Cheng’s brother William an architect helped.
Back in 1979 Thomson Medical Centre was unique. It was Singapore’s only private niche hospital for women and children. Obstetrics gynaecology and paediatrics were its focus. The hospital expanded in the late 90s with more clinics and facilities.
Thomson Medical Centre achieved many firsts. It was the first private hospital in Singapore with an IVF clinic. In 1988 it delivered Singapore’s first IVF triplets. The Thomson Fertility Clinic was established that same year. By 2009 it had treated over 5000 couples for fertility. Over 900 IVF babies were born there. In 1989 Thomson Medical Centre delivered Asia’s first surviving IVF quadruplets. Dr Cheng delivered them. The Tan quadruplets were born on Mother’s Day. They consisted of three girls and one boy. Since 1990 fertility specialists capped implanted embryos at three. This makes the Tan quadruplets one of the last IVF quadruplets in Singapore. The hospital produced its first frozen embryo baby in 1990. In 2000 the clinic achieved a global milestone. It produced twins from frozen eggs and frozen sperm.
Thomson Medical Centre faced challenges too. In 2010 an IVF mix-up occurred. A baby was born using sperm from a different father. The hospital was fined S$20000. It was also banned from new IVF procedures for eight months. In March 2017 the mother was awarded 30% of the child’s upbringing costs. She did not share a genetic affinity with the child.
Investor Peter Lim acquired Thomson Medical Centre in 2010. The company was delisted on January 24 2011.
Thomson Medical Centre has received accolades. Staff are known as Thomson Angels. They are recognised as cheerful attentive and alert. In 2008 the centre launched the Customer-Centric Initiative. SPRING Singapore led this initiative. In 2009 Thomson Medical Centre topped the CCI rankings in healthcare. It achieved a 93% patient satisfaction rate.
In 2013 Thomson Medical Center implemented a baby-tagging solution. Cadi Scientific developed it. This ensured newborns matched correctly with their mothers. Upon arrival both mother and baby received pre-matched tags. When the baby is brought to the mother the mother’s tag verifies. If the tags don’t match a red light flashes on the mother’s tag.
Today Thomson Medical Centre remains committed to women’s and children’s health. It blends innovation with compassionate care. It continues to create new beginnings for families in Singapore and beyond.