WORKERS from the Jurong area have been flocking to a newly refurbished private hospital in Jurong for emergency treatment, rehabilitative care and health screenings.

They make up 30 to 40 per cent of the patients at West Point Hospital, which held a open house on Sunday to introduce its services to residents in the area.

The facility along Corporation Drive used to be Jurong Hospital.

After $3 million was put into renovations by China Healthcare, it is now a 58-bed hospital offering acute and convalescent care.

It has a 24-hour A&E department, in-patient and outpatient clinics, a traditional Chinese medicine corner and a physiotherapy centre.

West Point has also set up a new diagnostics lab with the National Healthcare Group (NHG) to offer blood tests, X-rays and CT scans.

China Healthcare runs five nursing homes with in-house physiotherapy and medical services, called Medicare centres, under the EconHealthcare name and two nursing homes here; it also runs a Medicare centre in Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking at the open house on Sunday, Jurong GRC Member of Parliament Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is also the Education Minister, said: 'Although it is a private hospital, it is committed to keeping the costs down and offering affordable prices.'

'It does this by close collaborations with NHG and other clinics in Singapore.'

West Point confirmed that its prices are 20 per cent lower than most private hospitals, with a single room costing an average of $320 a day.