Private ambulances should attend to patients

MOH's Reply

The Straits Times, 9 March 2015

Private ambulances should attend to patients
 
We thank Ms Shirley Loh for her feedback (“What are SOPs for private ambulances?” 24 Feb) regarding her experience with a private ambulance service provider.

MOH has since contacted the provider concerned to ensure that proper protocols are in place. The 1998 Ambulance Guidelines require ambulance providers to be able to measure vital signs such as pulse rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. Early this year, MOH updated and published the new Emergency Ambulance and Medical Transport Services Standards to improve the standards of care provided by the private ambulance operators (PAOs). However, in the event of a medical emergency, MOH would advise the public to call 995 instead of a private ambulance.

We have engaged the PAOs on the new standards which will be adopted in phases over the next two years.  Training courses have been developed for ambulance operators to improve their capabilities in caring for the patients. In the transition period, the public should contact MOH should they encounter issues related to ambulance care.

1777 is an easy-to-remember hotline number for the public to call for non-emergency ambulance services. When a member of the public calls 1777, the call centre operator will determine the type of assistance needed, before routing the call to a PAO registered under the 1777 network. The basic charges, which are listed on SCDF’s website, will be explained by the PAO and an ambulance will be dispatched upon the caller’s acceptance of service. In Ms Loh’s case, the basic charges and mode of payment were mutually agreed upon, so an ambulance was dispatched.

Public feedback and complaints against PAOs registered under the 1777 network are thoroughly reviewed by MOH and SCDF.  For serious service lapses, the PAO is either issued with a written warning or for repeat cases, will be taken off the 1777 network. Arising from Ms Loh’s feedback, we are working with the PAOs to review the payment process as part of our overall effort to improve the standard of ambulance services provided through the 1777 network.

Lim Bee Khim (Ms)
Director, Corporate Communications
Ministry of Health

Colonel A. Razak Raheem
Director, Public Affairs Department
Singapore Civil Defence Force
 

Forum Letter

The Straits Times, 24 Feb

I called the non-emergency number 1777 for an ambulance one Saturday at 3.30am, as my husband, who is in his 50s, had a bad bout of food poisoning, severe pain in the stomach and was too weak to walk.

I was told several times on the phone that I would need to have $150 in cash, as cheques and credit cards were not accepted. I was then told we would have to wait 45 minutes for the ambulance to take us to the nearest hospital, which was Changi General Hospital.

The ambulance attendants did not check my husband's temperature or blood pressure and did not monitor his condition throughout the entire journey.

Upon arrival at the hospital, they were, thus, unable to provide any information to the accident and emergency department nurse, who promptly scolded them and told them that they should have taken my husband's blood pressure and temperature, at the very least.

I have the following questions:

• What happens if one does not have $150 in cash at home in the wee hours of the night? Would the ambulance not be dispatched then?

• Is there no standard operating procedure (SOP) that ambulance attendants have to adhere to, for example, the checking of blood pressure or temperature, to ensure that the patient is not in any danger?

• Do private ambulances come under the purview of the Singapore Civil Defence Force and, if not, who ensures that these operators are carrying out their jobs professionally?

Shirley Loh (Ms)