To make traditional Chinese medicine services more accessible to residents near their homes, the Kebun Baru Community Club Management Committee has partnered with Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society to open a free traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinic at the club, offering consultations, medication and treatment. This is the society’s first TCM clinic in a community club.
Kebun Baru grassroots adviser Henry Kwek and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society chairman Mr Ardi Saban Hardjoe jointly officiated at the clinic’s opening on Saturday (14 November).
In his speech, Kwek said TCM services were not just for older people, but could benefit residents of all ages. Community clubs were not only places where residents took part in community activities, but also platforms for seeking help and receiving community support.
The clinic is operated by Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society, with services provided by TCM practitioners registered with Singapore’s Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board. These include consultations, dispensing medication and treatments such as acupuncture and flameless cupping. Once fully operational, the clinic will be able to serve up to 48 people a week.
Kwek said that while preparing to set up the clinic, he had repeatedly asked Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society whether its services would truly be entirely free, including consultations and medication, and whether they would be available to everyone, not just citizens.
“Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society made it clear that everything would be free for everyone. I also asked what would happen if the clinic did not have sufficient resources to serve everyone in future. The leadership told us that they would find the money.”
Clinic on club’s second floor opens for two sessions every Tuesday and Friday
Located on the second floor of Kebun Baru Community Club, the clinic opens every Tuesday and Friday from 10am to 1pm and from 6pm to 9pm, except on public holidays. It does not accept appointments and sees patients on a first-come, first-served basis.
In an interview, Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society chairman Mr Ardi Saban Hardjoe said opening a community TCM clinic at the club was intended to give residents more healthcare options and greater convenience. While government polyclinics and other facilities offered relatively affordable Western medical care, TCM was also part of life for many people in Singapore.
Besides providing medical services, community clinics could also serve as important points of contact with residents, helping to identify those who needed assistance and make timely referrals in urgent cases.
Mr Ardi Saban Hardjoe said Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society planned to gradually expand its network of community TCM clinics, aiming to have six by the end of March next year at the latest and 10 within the next two years. Besides community clubs, the society also planned to open a TCM clinic at Thye Hua Kwan Temple.
Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society now has three community TCM clinics. The first two are in MacPherson and Taman Jurong.
Residents who visited the Kebun Baru Community Club TCM clinic on its opening day to find out more included married couple Wang Jiancheng, 76, and Zheng Xiujin, 71.
Zheng said in an interview that she had been struggling with panic disorder for the past three to four years. With her children grown up and grandchildren in the family, she had few worries in life and did not know why she had developed the condition. She had sought both TCM and Western medical treatment, but had seen no significant improvement and still became breathless easily when speaking.
She said her husband had learnt from Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society that a free TCM clinic had opened nearby, so they came to visit. “We made a special trip here today to see a TCM practitioner, hoping to find a way to treat my panic disorder.”
Wang said he had some soreness in his arm and hoped to receive acupuncture treatment.
