Surge in A&E patients at SGH and Sengkang General Hospital, SKH wards operating at full capacity

[The_King]

SINGAPORE - Both Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) have reported a high number of patients at their emergency departments.

SKH has also said its wards are now running at full capacity.

SGH posted about the surge in patients on Facebook on Friday (April 30) morning, while SKH posted on Saturday morning.

Both posts said priority will be given to those who are critically ill, and the waiting times for other patients are expected to be longer.

Each patient is also allowed only one companion.

The post by SKH said: "Our wards are also running at full capacity at the moment."

 

 

 

Both hospitals said those with conditions that are not critical are advised to seek medical care at a general practitioner or a polyclinic.

SKH has about 1,000 beds, while SGH has about 1,700.

It is not known if the sudden surge in patients is related to the recent developments at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which now has four wards locked down following the discovery of a Covid-19 cluster there.

When The Straits Times visited SKH on Saturday afternoon, there were no queues outside the emergency department.

 

However, a woman said it was very crowded when she arrived at around noon.

The 31-year-old software engineer, who did not want to be identified, had brought her maid to SKH’s emergency department.

She said: “(The maid) just took the vaccine on Friday, and has been vomiting non-stop since this morning. It was very crowded and there were queues but the staff attended to her immediately, because it was a priority case.

"But I think the less serious cases had to wait about one-and-a-half hours before they could see a doctor.”

The number of patients is believed to have gone back to normal levels in the afternoon.

 

The number of patients is believed to have gone back to normal levels in the afternoon. ST PHOTO: MOHD KHALID BABA

 

Outside the emergency department’s pharmacy, Mr Benami Chiam, 31, who works in a bank, said he brought his elderly mother to the hospital at around 2pm. He said she suffered from back pains, and was looking to get a consultation.

“There was actually no one in the emergency department at the time, and we walked right  in,” he said.

Asked why he did not bring his mother to a general practitioner or polyclinic instead, he said he saw SKH as a family hospital.

He said: “I feel the hospital has better medical facilities and can diagnose her better, and she has an upcoming scan here also. The whole process was very smooth with no crowds, and took less than half an hour.”

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Dr Kenneth Tan, head and senior consultant at SGH’s Department of Emergency Medicine, sought the public’s understanding and patience.

 

The Pharmacy Emergency Department at Sengkang General Hospital on May 1, 2021. ST PHOTO: MOHD KHALID BABA 

 

He said: "We are seeing a higher-than-usual daily number of patients at our emergency department.

"We do not turn away any patient who comes to our emergency department to seek medical attention."

He added that a new Emergency Medicine Building is being built, and will cater to the anticipated and evolving requirements for emergency care in the future.

It will also have significantly increased capacity and a wider range of services and facilities.

Both SGH and SKH are under the SingHealth group.

The Straits Times has contacted it for more information.