We look into the critical issue of hospital bed waiting times. Long queues for public hospital beds have become a pressing concern, raising questions about efficiency and patient care. As demand continues to surge, the strain on healthcare infrastructure is palpable. Addressing this challenge requires collaborative efforts from policymakers, healthcare providers, and the community. By fostering innovation, streamlining processes, and investing in healthcare resources, we can strive to shorten waiting times and ensure swift access to quality care. Together, let’s build a healthcare system that prioritizes timely and effective services for all
Category Archives: hospital
Healthcare worker definition
There are tens of thousands of healthcare workers working in the healthcare sector. Most people will define doctor, nurse, pharmacy, allied health, radiologist and the list is goes on for the healthcare staffs.
Does general public think of backend staffs to be healthcare workers? We are just a bunch of people working behind to support the front line staffs. This had created many views on how people view us as healthcare workers.
It is up to the clusters like SingHealth, National Healthcare Group and National University Hospital System to define what encompass us as a healthcare worker? This may not be important to backend staffs like us who also work long hours during COVID-19 to support the operations.
It is the frontline staffs whom deserved the benefits and glory as they battle head on with COVID-19. I am proud that I can contribute in this fight although I am a back end staff only. Appreciate that the healthcare workers can enjoy the free night stay at Pan Pacific with their love ones or families.
https://mothership.sg/2020/08/pan-pacific-free-stay-healthcare-workers/
SGH Clinic A Payment
It is Friday and the SGH ENT Clinic is packed with patients. The current bottleneck process is the payment and appointment counter. You will have to patiently wait for your turn. This may take 30 minutes to one hour.
Everyone is trying to pay attention to the staffs calling the patient to make payment and fix the next appointment. I am wondering when this process can be change or there is limitation in their work flow. My advice is to apply for the service express and skip the payment and appointment counter.
SGH Car Park H
Car Park H open or covered car park offers the most economical solution to your parking needs. You can drop the patient or your love ones before proceeding to the car park.
The car park charges is $1.08 per hour. The others normal car park charge is at $2.16 per hour. Therefore you save 50% of your money.
The open car park H to Block 5 is the nearest where the walking time is 10mins or less for a healthy adult. You need to add 5 more mins of walking time for covered car park H.
Subsidy Patient in distress
I bought my mother to Singapore General Hospital Clinic A (ENT) for a specialist follow up on her Thyroid. She will need an operation after they had seen her CT scan on the neck.
I saw a old male patient in around 50s in distress and need to see a specialist. He had an appointment to see the specialist but only in Jan 2017. But he obviously know what type of medical attention is require and insist on seeing a doctor and do not mind waiting till 6PM onwards.
The operations staff advised that he cannot see a specialist without an appointment. He need to go A&E if medical attention is require. But he does not want as he cannot afford the charges of $125.
The operations staff had update that none of the specialist was able to help him. He mention that there are so many specialists in the clinic and nobody can help him on a 5 mins procedure which he had done before. It is indeed sad that the healthcare system is rigid and nobody can assist him.
A patient associate assure him that the charges will be waive if he go over to the A&E with the operations staffs. With the assurance, he left the clinic towards the next destination.
We may not have the medical attention required just like him if we do not have enough money. Staffs may be eager to help him but still have to abide by the rules and procedures. In Singapore, this is the hard truth and unless you know the channels that can help. We really had to work till death to continue surviving. What are your views?
MeidiShieldLife is Singapore answer to Healthcare Cost
MeidiShieldLife is going to come into action and many Singaporeans are interested to know whether we ready do not need to worry about healthcare cost.
We will need to tune in to the National Day Rally 2015 to listen to what Prime Minister Lee is going to deliver to us. Interestingly, Worker Party choose to have an event on the same day as the National Day Rally.
There are many healthcare facilities in Singapore that had been been built or have come into operations. The future issue is the outpatient costs which the MediShieldLife will not be able to cover. Thus there will still be disgruntled Singaporeans as this cost is of considerable amount.
Healthcare Lead Times in Singapore
The lead times to get a specialist or DDR appointments in Singapore is 1 to 6 months. This applies to subsidize patients in general. If you are a private patients, you will get a appointment within 1 week to 4 weeks. The reason is obvious as priority will be given to private patients as they pay the full rates.
But subsidize patients demand for shorter lead times is rising in Singapore especially with the younger generation. But they had ignore the financial portion. They are only able to get faster lead time unless they are a private patients. Healthcare institutions on the other hand are also trying hard to improve the lead times for subsidize patients if it is within their means.
Missed Appointments
Every time an appointment is missed by the patients, an opportunity is lost to see another patient. This will increase the lead times and the healthcare staffs will lose the productivity time.
Every patients must stick to their appointment or call in at least 2 weeks to cancel prior to their appointment. This will give the clinical operations an opportunity to assign this timing to others who may turn up and shorten the lead time for their patients.
Subsidize patients like us have to be realistic in this type of healthcare model. Taxpayers are paying for the subsidize patients and you are one of them also. You will realize how expensive it is if you are paying the full rate. The government are now building more hospitals to reduce the lead time at outpatient specialist centers.
SGH DAY 2
The doctor has informed us that my father condition is complicated and critical. The water are present both at the lung and the heart area. A decision will need to be make later on whether to remove the water as there are some risk involved. A Cardiologist will be checking his condition in the afternoon before we are ask to make a decision.
If his condition can be stabilise, he will need to be move to a step down facility like a hospice or community hospital.
My dad underwent a simple procedure to remove water near the heart in the evening time. It took 1 hour and it was a success. He will be staying at CCU(high dependency) for at least one night before going back to the normal ward.
My advise to all my friends who are smoker to quit now before anything happen to you. My dad was a smoker for more than 30 years and only quit after diagnosis of lung cancer.
2nd Opinion
My father went to the National Cancer Centre for his first appointment. We have decided on this second opinion as Tan Tock Seng Hospital Onologist is not very professional. Seeing an onologist at TTSH is just like seeing a GP at the polyclinic. They only ask about how is your condition and rather give you an update of the condition unless u ask.
The consultant at National Cancer Centre has told my father that the cancer cells has started to spread. It has affected the bone also and developed into five or six tumours. The consultant advised my father to participate in a chemotherapy treatment and he will be briefing me about the studies this Friday.
I will update all of my friends and relatives this weekend again.
Hospital Fatimah Review
Serene Father condition has been on and off but it is consider stable at the moment and the doctor will be transferring out of the High Dependency Unit. The room charges is RM$150 for the HDU and normal ward(2 Persons) will cost RM$110. The bill has already cost us RM$23,00 till today and he is expected to stay for another 3 to 7 days.
The room charges is affordable but the cost for equipment, medication, laboratory investigation are quite expensive. Many Malaysian patients especially Non Malays, have to turn to private care as government hospital staff are not very responsible and professional in their service. The main factor here is the costs and Hospital Fatimah in Ipoh, Malaysia has responsible and caring doctors but the cost are quite high.