Back in January 2020 when Dr Loh took the helm at IHH, the threat of a global pandemic was already looming.

Convinced that IHH’s future success lay in our ability to build trust with our stakeholders, Dr Loh announced the Group’s bold vision to be the world’s most trusted healthcare services network along with the Refreshed Strategy that would take us there.

Two years on, as we now learn to live with COVID-19, it is evident that our trust-building efforts with patients, people and stakeholders have enabled the company to ride through this unprecedented crisis.

“Healthcare is deeply personal. It’s about people’s lives. Patients will come to us only if they can trust us with their lives. What this means for us is that on a day-to-day basis, we have to deliver on that trust,” said Dr Loh in an interview with SBR.

Citing the pandemic as an example, Dr Loh shared that in many markets we operate in, IHH was one of the first hospitals to support national pandemic efforts by providing COVID-19 testing and vaccination and treating infected patients.

“Over time, our patients saw that they could trust our hospitals to be safe and that we were able to take in both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients at the same time. As that trust grew, our patient volume including elective cases also rebounded. It is because of trust that we are able to have strong recovery and business resilience even while we are in the throes of pandemic as we speak.”

But first and foremost, IHH must be at the front line of trust with our people, according to Dr Loh.

“For our staff to perform their best, they must trust that the company will provide them with the right processes, tools and environment. Not only do we make sure that our people have the right personal protective equipment at all times, we also give our commitment to protect their livelihoods. In return, our staff are willing to stand by us and do right by our patients, delivering care safely to them.”

Congratulations to Dr Loh on winning this annual award that recognises excellent executives, innovators and teams, as well as HR and company initiatives that promote the well-being of employees.