DATA ON RESTRUCTURED HOSPITALS DIVERTING PATIENTS AWAY DUE TO FULL CAPACITY AND WAITING TIMES OF OVER TWO HOURS IN LAST THREE MONTHS

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1095
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 5 APRIL 2022

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Ms He Ting Ru
MP for Sengkang GRC

Question No. 1747

To ask the Minister for Health regarding the capacity of restructured hospitals in the last three months (a) for how many days did the emergency departments of each restructured hospital had to close or divert patients away due to its capacity being reached; (b) which hospitals or departments have been particularly badly hit; and (c) how many days have the respective emergency departments of these hospitals seen waiting times of over (i) two hours (ii) four hours and (iii) six hours, before patients could be triaged.

Written Answer

In the last three months, Singapore went through a severe pandemic crisis. It is a global crisis that affects all countries and regions. Fortunately, our population is highly vaccinated. Hence COVID-19 infections have not translated to many cases with severe illness and our ICU wards did not come under pressure.

It has been the hospital Emergency Departments (ED) that is most busy. During that time, MOH had approved the diversion of SCDF ambulances on seven different occasions from three hospitals (CGH, KTPH and SKH). We are able to do so because the conditions of the patients were non-critical. This helped hospitals manage their capacity at the EDs, so that patients with critical conditions can be attended to quickly. The duration of diversions varied, ranging from two hours to six hours.

All patients presenting at EDs are triaged at registration, usually within half an hour, to determine the level of priority for emergency treatment. Their waiting times for clinical consult varies depending on the clinical condition of the patient. Critically ill patients are seen almost immediately.