Founded in 1973 by two visionary young doctors, Parkway Shenton has come a long way to become an integral part of Singapore’s healthcare today.
The Shenton story
All great things have humble beginnings. And with Parkway Shenton, it all started with the simple idea of making quality healthcare more accessible to Singaporeans.
In the early 1970s, Dr Paul Choo and Dr John Choy were aspiring assistant doctors in a group practice called Clifford Dispensary. They noticed something different about the way clinics operated in the medical space. Representatives of these clinics did not go out to provide healthcare to employees. Instead, companies came to them for various types of medical services.
Dr Paul Choo decided to break the cycle and started reaching out to large companies to promote preventive healthcare. He founded a group practice at the new financial centre in Shenton Way with Dr Lien Lian Sze and Dr John Choy. In 1973, Shenton Medical Group (SMG) was born.
Clinic Assistant Maggie Lim and Dr Jason Yap at the entrance of Shenton Medical Group.
Dr Jason Yap in a consultation room.
A beacon for healthcare
Seeing that accessibility to healthcare was low, SMG set up the first executive health screening centre in the city, allowing families from all walks of life to get a headstart in preventive care.
The positive response from the public propelled our vision to scale up healthcare for the wider community. SMG sent a doctor and nurse to study at the world-renowned Executive Health Examiners in New York. Our clinics also expanded into the heartlands, providing Singaporeans with ready access to quality healthcare.
Around the same time, Singapore had a booming economy as one of the busiest ports in the world. The hundreds of ships and oil tankers that sailed through our waters needed medical services for the crew on board.
Recognising the need to cater for their wellbeing, SMG set up a dedicated maritime unit to provide comprehensive ship-to-shore medical services. Dr John Choy ran the shipping medical unit out of Maritime House on Cantonment Road. SMG’s commitment to making healthcare a priority was embodied in the dedication of our doctors and nurses who even climbed aboard tall ships to give sailors medical care.
The 21st century and beyond
Over the years of using five-by-three-inch billing chits and computers running on MS-DOS, SMG became established as a household name, synonymous with healthy living and quality healthcare. Parkway bought over SMG and Maritime House in 1995 to form Gleneagles International GP, which eventually rebranded to Parkway Shenton.
Since then, Parkway Shenton has expanded to over 40 clinics across Singapore. We are a self-sufficient Primary Care Network experienced at running the Chronic Disease Management Programme (CDMP), among other capabilities.
In 2020, when the world came to a standstill due to COVID-19, we proactively contributed to the pandemic management effort in Singapore by setting up and running vaccination centres. We still provide vaccination for travellers and non-travellers who wish to stay safe in the new normal.
Dr Paul Choo (centre) socialising at an SMG event.
Today, the Shenton story continues as we head into our 50th year of patient care. In line with the Healthier SG initiative, we empower you and your family to build strong, lasting relationships with your family doctor, so you can receive the best possible personalised care. As part of the IHH Healthcare network, we also support you through the full continuum of healthcare, from preventive and primary care at our GP clinics to specialist care at our affiliated hospitals, rehabilitation and beyond.
As we look to the future, Parkway Shenton remains committed to our mission of delivering accessible quality healthcare and being a trusted lifelong partner for all Singaporeans.
