Cluster Hospital is an initiative introduced in 2014 in order to improve clinical service delivery quality and safety, improve accessibility to specialist services, and to decongest state and specialist hospitals. Cluster hospital is about forming strategic partnership between hospitals within the same geographical locations, to achieve common goals under a single governance structure whilst also optimising current resources. A group of hospitals located in the same geographical location operating and functioning as one organization with: 

• Minimum two hospitals  
• At least one Specialist Hospital. 
• The highest hierarchy hospital is the Lead Hospital (LH)
• Other hospitals are known as Non-Lead Hospital (NLH)\

By closely integrating care delivery, a Cluster Hospital can deliver high quality, cost effective treatment. A Cluster Hospital can achieve a tight integration of its clinical services with close coordination with primary care and placing a strong emphasis on prevention. By doing so, and with greater autonomy, this Cluster Hospital can be more responsive to patient needs and provides its population the coverage of high-quality, cost-effective care. All these entities in the Cluster Hospital (and primary care) shall share a common vision: to deliver coordinated comprehensive health care that keeps patients as healthy as possible under an umbrella clinical governance organization.

This approach offers several advantages. It improves care quality, makes care delivery more convenient for patients, and increases communication among all the care providers. It will also enable us to find efficiencies that reduce costs, improve or maintain quality, and allow for innovation. Cluster Hospital must believe and rely strongly in evidence-based medicine, and always look for new and innovative ways of delivering care. Any innovation that is working well will be propagated as best practice throughout the Cluster Hospital organization.

Started with three Cluster Hospitals as pilot project in 2014, the expansion has now completed to all 149 Ministry of Health Hospitals and Special Medical Institutions forming 40 Hospital Cluster.