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MORE than 35,000 outpatients and 500 warded patients have gone through Khoo Teck Puat Hospital’s doors since it opened its accident and emergency (A&E) section and some of its patient wards at the end of last month.
These figures on Singapore’s latest medical facility were disclosed by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan yesterday in an update posted on his blog, http://mohsingapore.blogspot.com
The opening of the A&E section and wards means the bulk of the hospital in Yishun is now up and running, while the remaining 20 per cent, comprising more wards, will be open by the end of the month.
Mr Khaw noted that the hospital is now seeing more emergency cases, and admitting more patients in its
wards, than Alexandra Hospital.
The average daily number of A&E patients between July 4 and 10 was 160 for Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and 141 for Alexandra Hospital.
For the average daily number of people admitted to wards, the former had 262 while the latter had 224.
These figures were released by Alexandra Health, which manages both facilities. From next week, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital will start receiving urgent ambulance cases. Mr Khaw noted this will ease the strain on other hospitals.
“Many of (Khoo Teck Puat Hospital’s patients) are residents in my Sembawang constituency. I have begun to receive positive comments from my grassroots leaders and some residents.
“No doubt, the hospital patient load is still low and the real test will be when the hospital is fully stressed. I am optimistic that the KTPH (Khoo Teck Puat Hospital) team will be able to scale up their hassle-free experience for their patients,” wrote Mr Khaw.
He stressed the importance of this aim for the hospital, which costs more than $700 million. “With increased ageing in our population, hospitals must be especially hassle-free for the elderly, who often have multiple chronic illnesses.”
Mr Khaw added that he hopes to see this “hassle-free” approach improved upon in the upcoming Jurong General Hospital.
This, according to Mr Khaw, would entail “providing seamless care between hospital, GPs, nursing homes and community hospital in the west”.
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