Ivy Ng has been clinician, educator, researcher, hospital administrator, and group chief executive officer of a major public healthcare group. In all these roles, some of which were concurrent, she was driven by one goal – to improve the lives of the patients by providing the best care possible.

Ivy’s interest in medicine began when she was a child. Her father, whose ambition to become a doctor was dashed by World War 2, was a laboratory technician who worked closely with doctors. He often told Ivy about the work done by doctors and their impact on people’s lives. He used to tell her that she had but one life and to spend it well.

When Ivy was 10, her father was in hospital for more than a month because of a massive haemorrhage from a stomach ulcer. She was so moved by the care and competence of the doctors and nurses that she decided she would forge a career in healthcare so as to be able to help others.

Having got her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in Singapore in 1982 and a Master of Medicine in Paediatrics in 1987, she began her medical career at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

In 1992 she started the National Thalassaemia Registry, which screened at-risk individuals, and offered counselling and prenatal diagnosis. The registry led to a drop in the number of thalassaemia major births. In 1993 she won the SGH Young Investigator Award.

In 1997, Ivy joined KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) as a specialist treating children with genetic disorders. In 2002, she became head of the hospital’s Department of Paediatric Medicine, and in 2003 she was made the Chair of KKH’s Medical Board. The next year, she was appointed CEO of KKH, a position she held till 2012.

At KKH, Ivy expanded its services to include mental wellness, breast and aesthetic services, and she took steps to streamline patient care and make it easier for patients to access healthcare facilities in the same building.

In 2008, Ivy was appointed Deputy Group CEO of SingHealth, and in 2012 she became the Group CEO. She remained Group CEO until February 2024.

When he announced that Ivy would be stepping down, SingHealth Chairman, Cheng Wai Keung, said: “Compassion, an unwavering belief in the importance of staff well-being and engagement as well as her unstinting support for staff during challenging times are the distinctive hallmarks of her leadership.
“She is a visionary and inspirational leader who has transformed SingHealth over the past decade. Under her strategic guidance in establishing and fostering the academic medicine culture, SingHealth is, today, a leading, global Academic Medical Centre in partnership with Duke-NUS Medical School, and a healthcare cluster of choice nationally with several of its institutions consistently ranked among the best in the region and in the world.”

Established in 2014, the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre has 15 Academic Clinical Programmes, SingHealth Duke-NUS Disease Centres in 16 strategic areas, nine Joint Research Institutes, and a multitude of collaborative efforts with organisations like the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and universities.

In 2016, Ivy was asked to oversee the ambitious 20-year SGH Campus Masterplan that aims to transform Singapore’s largest medical campus into an integrated, vibrant healthcare eco-system.

When she was helming KKH and SingHealth, she was particularly concerned about the challenges faced by working mothers. She had four children as she was moving up the career ladder and she was well aware of the challenges.

In one interview, she said, “In my time, we didn’t have flexi-work arrangements. If you couldn’t give your 120 per cent, you had to make a choice. It is very sad that many talented colleagues had to choose to give up clinical practice. We need to embrace the fact that marriage and children are part of the equation and look at how to structure jobs and work so that there is sufficient work-life balance.”

It is important, Ivy says, to reduce this waste of talent in an industry where the pace of progress makes it hard for dropouts to re-enter. When young women wanted to leave because of family commitments, she offered them part-time work or job-sharing arrangements. She made sure that all SingHealth Campuses had childcare facilities.

In 2021, Ivy was awarded the President’s Science and Technology Medal which is given to the most outstanding individuals and teams in science, research, and engineering.

After Ivy stepped down as SingHealth Group CEO, she was appointed Senior Advisor to the SingHealth Board and returned to clinical work as a Senior Consultant at KKH. She also serves on various panels and boards, including the National Research Foundation Board, Temasek Trust Board and the Singapore Management University Board of Trustees.

Ivy Ng has been clinician, educator, researcher, hospital administrator, and group chief executive officer of a major public healthcare group. In all these roles, some of which were concurrent, she was driven by one goal – to improve the lives of the patients by providing the best care possible.

Ivy’s interest in medicine began when she was a child. Her father, whose ambition to become a doctor was dashed by World War 2, was a laboratory technician who worked closely with doctors. He often told Ivy about the work done by doctors and their impact on people’s lives. He used to tell her that she had but one life and to spend it well.

When Ivy was 10, her father was in hospital for more than a month because of a massive haemorrhage from a stomach ulcer. She was so moved by the care and competence of the doctors and nurses that she decided she would forge a career in healthcare so as to be able to help others.

Having got her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery in Singapore in 1982 and a Master of Medicine in Paediatrics in 1987, she began her medical career at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

In 1992 she started the National Thalassaemia Registry, which screened at-risk individuals, and offered counselling and prenatal diagnosis. The registry led to a drop in the number of thalassaemia major births. In 1993 she won the SGH Young Investigator Award.

In 1997, Ivy joined KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) as a specialist treating children with genetic disorders. In 2002, she became head of the hospital’s Department of Paediatric Medicine, and in 2003 she was made the Chair of KKH’s Medical Board. The next year, she was appointed CEO of KKH, a position she held till 2012.

At KKH, Ivy expanded its services to include mental wellness, breast and aesthetic services, and she took steps to streamline patient care and make it easier for patients to access healthcare facilities in the same building.

In 2008, Ivy was appointed Deputy Group CEO of SingHealth, and in 2012 she became the Group CEO. She remained Group CEO until February 2024.

When he announced that Ivy would be stepping down, SingHealth Chairman, Cheng Wai Keung, said: “Compassion, an unwavering belief in the importance of staff well-being and engagement as well as her unstinting support for staff during challenging times are the distinctive hallmarks of her leadership.
“She is a visionary and inspirational leader who has transformed SingHealth over the past decade. Under her strategic guidance in establishing and fostering the academic medicine culture, SingHealth is, today, a leading, global Academic Medical Centre in partnership with Duke-NUS Medical School, and a healthcare cluster of choice nationally with several of its institutions consistently ranked among the best in the region and in the world.”

Established in 2014, the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre has 15 Academic Clinical Programmes, SingHealth Duke-NUS Disease Centres in 16 strategic areas, nine Joint Research Institutes, and a multitude of collaborative efforts with organisations like the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and universities.

In 2016, Ivy was asked to oversee the ambitious 20-year SGH Campus Masterplan that aims to transform Singapore’s largest medical campus into an integrated, vibrant healthcare eco-system.

When she was helming KKH and SingHealth, she was particularly concerned about the challenges faced by working mothers. She had four children as she was moving up the career ladder and she was well aware of the challenges.

In one interview, she said, “In my time, we didn’t have flexi-work arrangements. If you couldn’t give your 120 per cent, you had to make a choice. It is very sad that many talented colleagues had to choose to give up clinical practice. We need to embrace the fact that marriage and children are part of the equation and look at how to structure jobs and work so that there is sufficient work-life balance.”

It is important, Ivy says, to reduce this waste of talent in an industry where the pace of progress makes it hard for dropouts to re-enter. When young women wanted to leave because of family commitments, she offered them part-time work or job-sharing arrangements. She made sure that all SingHealth Campuses had childcare facilities.

In 2021, Ivy was awarded the President’s Science and Technology Medal which is given to the most outstanding individuals and teams in science, research, and engineering.

After Ivy stepped down as SingHealth Group CEO, she was appointed Senior Advisor to the SingHealth Board and returned to clinical work as a Senior Consultant at KKH. She also serves on various panels and boards, including the National Research Foundation Board, Temasek Trust Board and the Singapore Management University Board of Trustees.