In Isolation Ward

I told my father "You are not old and dying, this round you are just sick with Influenza, so you are in isolation. You have fever but you will recover."

In Loving Remembrance of my Father

This sketch was done a week after my father was admitted for a fever to Khoo Teck Phuat Hospital on 7 March. KTPH was not his usual Ng Teng Fong Hospital. Turned out it was influenza and he was discharged on 22 March.

A very special sketchbook

In memory of my father, Mr TIA AH SENG (03 Feb 1932 - 04 Jun 2023)

As much as I resisted to sketch when my father was in the hospitals, I was too bored when he was sleeping. I spent so much time with him in different hospitals from beginning of this year so one day in March, I decided to start sketching at his hospital bed.

I completed a sketchbook to kill time as a caregiver, I also sketched the doctors and the nurses, only when my father was asleep of course.

I will probably post a few sketches but not all. This special sketchbook is another way to celebrate his colourful life.

KOPI at Singapore General Hospital

I visit Singapore General Hospital (SGH) quite often these days as my mom is undergoing daily treatment since early May. Doctor is very surprised and tells us my mom is a very stoic and optimistic lady. I often take my lunch at this KOPI eatery located near the hospital entrance while my dad and the family helper are attending to my mom at the treatment clinic. The hospital is always crowded so to find a seat for lunch and sketch is a luxury.

Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital is a private community hospital funded by donations from the public. It has been around for one hundred years. The 99-year leased land had just been surrendered back to the government and first thing the hospital lost is to surrender part of the land back to the land office while the main hospital block together with 3 single-storey blocks are to be given temporary occupation license to be able to continue with their operation - that is to provide medical health care to the lower income group and the needy. Many of the patients here are either abandoned by the families or are sick and aged who are with the hospital for as long as 20 to 30 years.

This block within the hospital compound is to be surrendered soon to the government. I hope it can be retained or converted to something to respond to the character of the building design. The huge staircase is very attractive. The vents are to allow natural ventilation which is very rare in the new design.

Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital

This piece will be presented to the the generous donor of Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital for the 100th anniversary end of this year. The hospital was founded in 1910 by a group of Cantonese merchants in Singapore. The hospital has only 50 beds but the nursing home has 250 beds.

old but charming hospital building

I sat in the car and sketched this old building which I wanted to take a close look at its charming architecture for a long time. It was built after a typical old Malay style that the building was raised by column stumps to prevent flood in the old days. The area beneath the building was also used for storage to rear livestock like pigs and chickens in the past. This old building which houses the Tuberculosis Control Unit, is part of a very big hospital complex with a mixture of new and old buildings.

Tan Tock Seng Hospital is today transformed from a village hospital to a state of the art medical institution. It is named after its founder who built it in 1844. He is also the donor of many other public buildings including this temple without nails I did earlier.

It was so quiet that I only noticed three old patients accompanied by their family members going in and out of the premises. Two gentlemen walked passed my car and gave me a nice smile when they saw what I did at my driver seat. "They can't be patients and must be researchers or doctors with that kind of smile on their face" I said to myself.