For yr info about the promotion of chinese medicine and acupuncture in Singapore currently. Just try to outline the positively the benefits and effective of chinese medicine and accuncture should not be ignored but should be to move forwards into scentific practices..

SINGAPORE : The Health Ministry plans to allow acupuncture in hospital wards and specialist outpatient clinics.
But to make sure such practice does not compromise patients' safety, the Health Ministry has drawn up a set of guidelines and is now seeking feedback from the public.

Although most public hospitals have traditional chinese medicine, or TCM clinics, Ang Mo Kio Hospital is the only one in Singapore where patients could receive acupuncture treatment in the ward.

In-patients can also opt to go down to Hong Hua TCM Medical Centre for acupuncture treatment which offers outpatient services too.

The Centre, which opened in April, is part of the Health Ministry's push for greater collaboration between western and eastern medicine in hospitals.

The proposed set of revised guidelines on "Provision of TCM Services in Acute and Extended Care Hospitals and Nursing Homes" will enable in-patients to get acupuncture treatment.

But they must be referred by the doctor-in-charge.

The TCM Clinic will operate as a separate entity and is answerable to the TCM Practitioners' Board.

TCM practitioners are only allowed to provide acupuncture treatment.

The Health Ministry says this is because other TCM treatments like massage and herbal medicine do not have the same level of scientific evidence as in acupuncture.

Presently in Singapore chinese docotors must be licensed and regulated thru' standardised examination qualifying prior to pracising in public. Chinese herbs and medicine for practising are also being categorised and put under control by regulations.