SINGAPORE: Medical triage helpline NurseFirst directed more than 2,000 calls from people with non-life-threatening conditions to seek help at other care providers instead of emergency departments in 2023 and 2024, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
This allowed emergency department resources to be freed up for those who require emergency care, the ministry said on Tuesday (Jun 3) in response to CNA's queries.
NurseFirst started on Feb 4, 2022, as a pilot programme to manage non-life-threatening cases in the northern district.
Operated by Woodlands Health, it provides advice on a caller’s medical condition and guides them to appropriate medical care options.
Last week, MOH and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced the expansion of the pilot nationwide, with non-life-threatening 995 calls referred to the helpline from Jun 1. It will run for six months.
About 15,000 calls were made to the helpline over the last three years, the health ministry told CNA.
“The majority of these calls provided medical advice without the need for the callers to be diverted to other sites of care,” MOH said.
Noting that the helpline is currently only available in English, MOH said Woodlands Health will review if there is a need to extend it to other language options.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to 245,279 EMS calls in 2024 – an average of 672 calls a day. This was a 57 per cent increase from 2014.
"With Singapore’s ageing population and rising healthcare needs, EMS calls are expected to continue increasing," said MOH and MHA last week.
The NurseFirst pilot will operate from 8am to 11pm daily. Outside of these hours, SCDF will deal with non-life-threatening 995 calls according to its current protocols.
The public can also call the NurseFirst helpline directly at 6262 6262 for non-life-threatening medical conditions to receive timely medical advice at no cost.
The Advanced Medical Protocol System is used by SCDF to triage emergency medical calls based on their severity, SCDF said.
To determine the appropriate level of response, SCDF will ask questions about the patient’s condition, for example, their level of consciousness and breathing status.
“It helps call-takers to assess the seriousness of a medical emergency and prioritise ambulance response to life-threatening cases,” SCDF said, adding that all 995 calls are assessed by call-takers using this system.
When a 995 call is assessed to be non-life-threatening, SCDF’s Operations Centre will transfer the caller to the NurseFirst helpline for further assistance.
Non-life-threatening conditions include animal bites without allergic symptoms and without active bleeding, minor burns affecting less than 15 per cent of the body surface area, and resolved choking episodes without active symptoms, among others.
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This allowed emergency department resources to be freed up for those who require emergency care, the ministry said on Tuesday (Jun 3) in response to CNA's queries.
NurseFirst started on Feb 4, 2022, as a pilot programme to manage non-life-threatening cases in the northern district.
Operated by Woodlands Health, it provides advice on a caller’s medical condition and guides them to appropriate medical care options.
Last week, MOH and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced the expansion of the pilot nationwide, with non-life-threatening 995 calls referred to the helpline from Jun 1. It will run for six months.
About 15,000 calls were made to the helpline over the last three years, the health ministry told CNA.
“The majority of these calls provided medical advice without the need for the callers to be diverted to other sites of care,” MOH said.
Noting that the helpline is currently only available in English, MOH said Woodlands Health will review if there is a need to extend it to other language options.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to 245,279 EMS calls in 2024 – an average of 672 calls a day. This was a 57 per cent increase from 2014.
"With Singapore’s ageing population and rising healthcare needs, EMS calls are expected to continue increasing," said MOH and MHA last week.
The NurseFirst pilot will operate from 8am to 11pm daily. Outside of these hours, SCDF will deal with non-life-threatening 995 calls according to its current protocols.
The public can also call the NurseFirst helpline directly at 6262 6262 for non-life-threatening medical conditions to receive timely medical advice at no cost.
IS IT LIFE THREATENING?
The Advanced Medical Protocol System is used by SCDF to triage emergency medical calls based on their severity, SCDF said.
To determine the appropriate level of response, SCDF will ask questions about the patient’s condition, for example, their level of consciousness and breathing status.
“It helps call-takers to assess the seriousness of a medical emergency and prioritise ambulance response to life-threatening cases,” SCDF said, adding that all 995 calls are assessed by call-takers using this system.
When a 995 call is assessed to be non-life-threatening, SCDF’s Operations Centre will transfer the caller to the NurseFirst helpline for further assistance.
Non-life-threatening conditions include animal bites without allergic symptoms and without active bleeding, minor burns affecting less than 15 per cent of the body surface area, and resolved choking episodes without active symptoms, among others.
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