As Omicron wave eases, hospitals to focus more on 'business-as-usual' patients: Ong Ye Kung
As the Omicron wave eases, the hospitals here now have to contend with a "debt" that they have accumulated in this pandemic, which is attending to the large number of chronically ill patients who need medical follow-ups.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said at press conference by the multi-ministry taskforce on Covid-19 on Thursday (March 24) that the vast majority of those going to emergency departments for treatment are now non-Covid patients.
"Most of them have chronic illnesses that may not have had close medical follow-ups over the past two years because everyone was just so preoccupied dealing with Covid-19," he said.
Referring to them as the hospitals' "business-as-usual" patients, he added: "We now have a BAU (business as usual) debt that has to be repaid one way or another."
Mr Ong said this debt has become a separate non-Covid-related health care cost, and that whichever way Covid infection numbers go, the impact on workflow at the emergency departments may not be very steep.
But a longer-term structural response is needed, and the Ministry of Health is doing four things to address this issue
First, it will progressively shift its focus back to serving "BAU" patients in the hospitals. "Hospitals are now freeing up some of the beds and manpower that had been ringfenced for Covid-19," Mr Ong said.
Secondly, to expand the capacity for the long term, it is now finally targeting to open three more nursing homes, including in Pasir Ris and Potong Pasir, next month.
"These would help with a significant number of patients from the hospitals, and these are patients currently in hospitals waiting for nursing homes," he said.
Thirdly, MOH will continue to make full use of the Covid Treatment Facilities (CTFs). The existing CTF at Tampines will be converted back to a nursing home around April.
The Sengkang community hospital, which has been serving as a CTF, will be reconfigured to allow it to attend more to regular patients, to "especially" serve Sengkang General Hospital.
Fourthly, MOH will continue its existing collaboration with the private hospitals, such as Raffles Hospital, Mount Alvernia Hospital and Parkway hospitals.
These hospitals have been a "tremendous help" and can help admit and manage some physically stable non-COVID patients.
On Wednesday, the number of people who are in hospitals with Covid-19 fell slightly to 951. The last time Covid-19 cases in hospitals here was below 1,000 was on Feb 4.
About 95 per cent of the eligible population in Singapore have completed their full vaccination regimen, and 71 per cent of the total population have received a booster shot.
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