SINGAPORE: As Singapore reported a new daily high of more than 25,000 COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Tuesday (Feb 22) introduced new measures to help ease the strain on the healthcare system.
Opening hours for Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) will be extended, while telemedicine consultations will be made available at combined test centres for people with COVID-19 symptoms.
These measures are meant to provide alternatives for medical attention during the midst of a wave of Omicron infections, as daily cases reached a new high of 25,000, the ministry said in a press release.
MOH noted that local hospitals, polyclinics and general practitioner clinics are "very busy", and that healthcare workers are under severe pressure.
"It may take a few weeks before the transmission wave peaks and subsides."
Selected PHPCs will operate extended hours, in an effort to "help spread out peak patient load at private clinics".
From Feb 25 to Mar 10, those PHPCs will open up to 11pm on weekdays, between 2pm and 5pm on weekend afternoons and up to 11pm on weekend nights. Selected polyclinics will also be operating on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings.
For a list of clinics providing extended hours, visit https://flu.gowhere.gov.sg.
From Feb 26, combined test centres will provide telemedicine consultations for symptomatic members of the public who come for testing during the weekends.
Telemedicine doctors will provide face-to-face video consultations and prescribe and deliver medications. Testing and consultations will be funded by the Government during this period, said MOH.
The booking of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) testing and telemedicine consultation appointments at the combined test centres can be made at go.gov.sg/ari-weekend-testing.
MOH advised the public that unless they are experiencing an emergency, not to rush to a hospital emergency department.
"Patients who walk into emergency departments with non-emergency conditions, including children, may be diverted to other 2 urgent care clinics or primary care clinics for further assessment, so as to prioritise emergency department resources for patients who need the medical care."
MOH encouraged anyone requiring medical attention to consult a primary care doctor first.
While the number of patients needing oxygen supplementation and intensive care unit care is "not high", there has been a surge in demand for hospital beds, mostly from patients recovering from underlying chronic illnesses.
The Health Ministry said it was doing "whatever we can" to support healthcare providers, including ramping up capacity in hospitals, right-siting patients at COVID-19 treatment facilities as much as possible, spreading patient load to private hospitals, allowing residents in nursing homes to recover in-situ and supplementing its healthcare manpower with the volunteer SG Healthcare Corps and medics from the Singapore Armed Forces.
Health protocols have also been further adjusted to allow more patients to recover at home, MOH added.
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Continue reading...
Opening hours for Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) will be extended, while telemedicine consultations will be made available at combined test centres for people with COVID-19 symptoms.
These measures are meant to provide alternatives for medical attention during the midst of a wave of Omicron infections, as daily cases reached a new high of 25,000, the ministry said in a press release.
MOH noted that local hospitals, polyclinics and general practitioner clinics are "very busy", and that healthcare workers are under severe pressure.
"It may take a few weeks before the transmission wave peaks and subsides."
Selected PHPCs will operate extended hours, in an effort to "help spread out peak patient load at private clinics".
From Feb 25 to Mar 10, those PHPCs will open up to 11pm on weekdays, between 2pm and 5pm on weekend afternoons and up to 11pm on weekend nights. Selected polyclinics will also be operating on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings.
For a list of clinics providing extended hours, visit https://flu.gowhere.gov.sg.
From Feb 26, combined test centres will provide telemedicine consultations for symptomatic members of the public who come for testing during the weekends.
Telemedicine doctors will provide face-to-face video consultations and prescribe and deliver medications. Testing and consultations will be funded by the Government during this period, said MOH.
The booking of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) testing and telemedicine consultation appointments at the combined test centres can be made at go.gov.sg/ari-weekend-testing.
MOH advised the public that unless they are experiencing an emergency, not to rush to a hospital emergency department.
"Patients who walk into emergency departments with non-emergency conditions, including children, may be diverted to other 2 urgent care clinics or primary care clinics for further assessment, so as to prioritise emergency department resources for patients who need the medical care."
Related:
MOH encouraged anyone requiring medical attention to consult a primary care doctor first.
While the number of patients needing oxygen supplementation and intensive care unit care is "not high", there has been a surge in demand for hospital beds, mostly from patients recovering from underlying chronic illnesses.
The Health Ministry said it was doing "whatever we can" to support healthcare providers, including ramping up capacity in hospitals, right-siting patients at COVID-19 treatment facilities as much as possible, spreading patient load to private hospitals, allowing residents in nursing homes to recover in-situ and supplementing its healthcare manpower with the volunteer SG Healthcare Corps and medics from the Singapore Armed Forces.
Health protocols have also been further adjusted to allow more patients to recover at home, MOH added.
BOOKMARK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
Continue reading...