Technology set to change face of medical care

​Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of technology has been on the rise in many industries. The healthcare industry was one of them with telehealth services being rapidly rolled out and offered to patients with different care needs. For example, Alexandra Hospital senior physiotherapist Tan Ee Ling was able to demonstrate wrist-stretching exercises to a patient during a virtual consultation over Zoom, a video-conferencing tool.

50,000 fruits for frontline workers

​A local Indian vegetarian restaurant, Mavalli Tiffin Rooms, distributed 50,000 fresh fruits to 20 hospitals, including NUH and AH, on 31 December 2020 to thank frontline healthcare workers.

Current measures in S'pore adequate against new Covid-19 strains, say experts

Discussing how the new coronavirus strains affected vaccination plans, Prof Teo Yik Ying, Dean of SSHSPH, said it may now be important for more Singaporeans to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, noting that “this is the only way we can continue to ensure that the community as a whole is protected”.
 
A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, Vice Dean of Global Research and Programme Leader of Infectious Diseases at SSHSPH, noted that the vaccine would still protect against the new COVID-19 strains as they have not mutated to the extent that vaccines are not able to protect against them.   
 
Reports also quoted experts who spoke at the NUSMed webinar series “Covid-19: Updates from Singapore”, including A/Prof David Allen and Prof Dale Fisher from NUSMed, and Dr Louisa Sun from Alexandra Hospital.

狮子乐龄之友与六公共医院合作 免费远程看诊降低年长者感染风险 (Lions Befrienders partners with 6 hospitals to provide free remote consultations for elderly)

​To reduce the risk of infection amongst the elderly, Lions Befrienders has partnered with six hospitals to provide free remote consultations. This includes National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital.

This initiative currently covers services such as chronic disease management, general and geriatric consultations. Elderly residents are able to consult with psychologists, physiotherapists, pharmacists and other healthcare staff remotely.

NUHS harnesses tech to help manage hospital facilities

​NUHS embraces drones, touch-free technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to transform hospital operations. The suite of technologies includes: 

• A security robot that will patrol the grounds of the hospitals namely NTFGH and NUH for a start;
• ‘Kenobi’, a security and concierge robot that can conduct thermal scanning and check for SafeEntry;
• Drones for hospital inspections and security surveillance;
• IoT solutions to predict and prevent flood and fire incidents; and
• Touch-free technology in visitor and patient lifts to improve infection control.

NUHS won’t seek $296k repayment of bills from worker

Healthcare group NUHS, which runs National University Hospital and Alexandra Hospital, has said it is not pursuing a $296,000 award it won in court against a quadriplegic foreign worker, whose employer had defaulted on paying his medical treatment bills.

Fighter jets to soar over hospitals, heartland in tribute to front-line, essential workers

​In this year’s National Day Parade, six F-15 fighter jets will perform a segment called the Roar of Unity and fly past eight hospitals including NUH, NTFGH, and AH to pay tribute to front-line and essential workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.  

• Lianhe Zaobao, 3 Aug 2020, Page 4

When will it be safe to…?

The article discussed when it is safe to restart activities like working out at the gym or going on vacation. It includes quoted comments by Prof Teo Yik Ying, Dean of SSHSPH, Prof Paul Tambyah of NUSMed and Senior Consultant, Division of Infectious Diseases at NUH, Assoc Prof Hsu Li Yang, Leader of Infectious Diseases Programme at SSHSPH, Ms Julianah Omar, Nurse Manager at AH's Urgent Care Centre, and Dr Laureen Wang, Associate Consultant at the Department of Cardiology at AH.

Shared care for more patients with stable chronic conditions

In Covid-19 times, it is an option for patients with stable chronic conditions who may not want to go to a hospital to have a shared care arrangement between a hospital specialist and a family physician. The Straits Times featured the example of Mr Chua Kee Huat, 70, who is part of such an arrangement with his specialist, Dr Anita Lim, senior consultant at NUH’s Division of Rheumatology and a family physician at Frontier Family Medicine Clinic. With shared care, the specialist can handle the more challenging aspects of the illness, while the family physician will monitor the patient and manage his other medical problems.
 
Ms Joanne Yap, executive director of the NUHS Regional Health System Office, said: “We have hope that the Covid-19 pandemic may drive changes in patient preferences for safety and convenience over choice of a specialist setting only. We intend to ride on the expediency of Covid-19 to expand the number of conditions managed through the shared care programme and to involve more specialists in NUHS-managed hospitals.”
 
NTFGH came on board the shared care programme at the end of last year, and AH will start to enrol patients for the programme from this month, Ms Yap added. Last year, NUHS enrolled 188 new shared programme cases, exceeding the set target of 170. This year, it has raised its target to 200, given its expansion plans ahead.

如何处理冷冻食物? (How should you handle frozen food?)

​Dr Louisa Sun, Associate Consultant of Infectious Diseases and Chronic Programme at Alexandra Hospital and Ms Lynette Goh, Principal Dietitian of the National University Polyclinics commented on the importance on handling frozen food properly to avoid bacterial infection. Among the tips shared with readers were avoiding refreezing defrosted food and using an ice pack or cooler bag if the trip from the supermarket to home takes longer than 30 minutes.

Ella helps keep Alexandra Hospital clean

​NTFGH Chief Operating Officer, Ng Kian Swan shares that the current Covid-19 situation has stretched our resources, hence our housekeeping department is leveraging technology to drive efficiency, safety and be less dependent on labour.

Stretched but coping: How Singapore’s healthcare system has cranked up efforts to deal with COVID-19

This report delves into the measures that local public hospitals have adopted to cope with the surge in COVID-19 patient numbers, and precautionary measures for the approaching dengue season.
 
A/Prof Hsu Li Yang, programme lead of infectious diseases at SSHSPH commented that Singapore’s strategies were generally very effective up until mid-March, but the nation was unprepared for the explosion of confirmed diagnoses in the migrant worker population. However, he is confident the nation will be able to cope.
 
NTFGH saw a spike in cases at its emergency department and has had to rapidly re-purpose areas such as its Community Hub (at JCH) and six floors of wards, and extend its fever tent, to cater to the increasing load.
 
AH has turned two empty wards into isolation wards and increased its intensive care capabilities from 4 to 11 beds. It aims to have 20 ICU beds by this month.
 
NUH has been creating surge capacity since January by decreasing elective workloads, reconfiguring its facilities and has created family-friendly areas where parents and children with COVID-19 can be cared for together.
 
Hospitals have also ramped up training to equip nurses with skills needed in the current situation. At AH, Ms Doreen Heng, Assistant Director of Nursing, provides “express course training” to help former ICU nurses refresh their knowledge, and equip nurses from other backgrounds with ICU certification. 

Bouncing back from SARS with more love for nursing

​​Ms Noor Melati Ahmad (Nurse Clinician, NUH) and Ms Pauline Chong (Senior Nurse Clinician, AH) who contracted SARS in 2003. They share about their SARS experience and recovery journey, what it’s like fighting COVID-19 on the frontline, and how they combat stress and stay positive.

Satellite clinic for geriatric care to open at Queenstown Polyclinic

Elderly care will be more accessible by December 2019 when Alexandra Hospital opens its first satellite clinic for geriatrics at Queenstown Polyclinic. Visits to the satellite clinic, which is located between Queenstown and Commonwealth MRT stations, will be on a referral basis. It will charge lower-than-specialist clinic rates and provide one-stop geriatric assessment and management for conditions such as dementia, frailty, malnutrition, and fall and fracture risk assessment.

亚力山大医院药剂师走入社区登门指导病患服药 (Alexandra Hospital pharmacists pay house visits to assist patients in medication compliance)

From January 2019, Alexandra Hospital (AH) rolled out an initiative where hospital pharmacists make house-visits to help elderly patients facing polypharmacy and issues with medication adherence.

AH Pharmacist, Joshua Low shared that the combination of polypharmacy, a lack of understanding and poor memory may cause elderly patients to be confused with their medication dosage and timing which is alarming. A scenario he gave was an elderly mistaking high blood pressure medication for painkillers, which could result in low blood pressure and subsequently a fall.

Studies have shown that 14.5% of the patients who face the issue of polypharmacy are 66 years and older.

Chang Wei Terk, Principal Clinical Pharmacist, Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH), shared that for patients who see multiple doctors and are on a variety of medications, it can be challenging to trace the history and side effects of medications that were previously prescribed. This may constitute to the issue of polypharmacy in patients.

Apart from AH and NTFGH, the National University Hospital also has similar initiatives to help their patients cope with Polypharmacy.