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20-10-2022, 08:57 AM
Vanessa Lim
20 Oct 2022 06:00AM
(Updated: 20 Oct 2022 06:32AM)
SINGAPORE: The waiting time for admission has surged to as high as 50 hours at some hospitals as of Wednesday (Oct 19), as public emergency departments across the country continue to see a high number of patients.
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Sengkang General Hospital were among those with waiting times of up to 50 hours
......
The ongoing bed crunch could also be due to an increase in patients with severe conditions, according to healthcare workers CNA spoke to.
“A lot of older people didn't go to see a GP doctor or get their medications refilled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and just let it lapse for whatever reason,” said one senior doctor who works at a public hospital.
“So the patients who are coming in are sicker and because of that, they have to stay in the hospital.”
Manpower constraints at her hospital have also been exacerbated by the current wave of COVID-19 cases, with more staff members testing positive for the virus.
“A lot of junior doctors are getting sick and because there's so many of them that are sick, there's nobody to recall. So then seniors end up having to cover them,” she said. “It’s a vicious cycle and just feels endless, so we all feel very exhausted.”
......
A Ministry of Health spokesperson told CNA that emergency departments have been seeing a high number of patients for a few months. While most patients have conditions not related to COVID-19, the rising infection caseload exacerbates the situation.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapor...ng-3014596
20 Oct 2022 06:00AM
(Updated: 20 Oct 2022 06:32AM)
SINGAPORE: The waiting time for admission has surged to as high as 50 hours at some hospitals as of Wednesday (Oct 19), as public emergency departments across the country continue to see a high number of patients.
Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and Sengkang General Hospital were among those with waiting times of up to 50 hours
......
The ongoing bed crunch could also be due to an increase in patients with severe conditions, according to healthcare workers CNA spoke to.
“A lot of older people didn't go to see a GP doctor or get their medications refilled during the COVID-19 pandemic, and just let it lapse for whatever reason,” said one senior doctor who works at a public hospital.
“So the patients who are coming in are sicker and because of that, they have to stay in the hospital.”
Manpower constraints at her hospital have also been exacerbated by the current wave of COVID-19 cases, with more staff members testing positive for the virus.
“A lot of junior doctors are getting sick and because there's so many of them that are sick, there's nobody to recall. So then seniors end up having to cover them,” she said. “It’s a vicious cycle and just feels endless, so we all feel very exhausted.”
......
A Ministry of Health spokesperson told CNA that emergency departments have been seeing a high number of patients for a few months. While most patients have conditions not related to COVID-19, the rising infection caseload exacerbates the situation.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapor...ng-3014596
