Public hospitals, polyclinics rescheduling Sept 1 surgery, clinic appointments
Published on
21 Aug 2023
Published by
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE – The three public health clusters have been busy rescheduling the tens of thousands of patient appointments that have been fixed for Sept 1, now that a presidential election is likely with three candidates qualifying.
Sept 1 will be a public holiday if the election is held. Polyclinics and hospital specialist outpatient clinics (SOCs) will be closed, while surgical operations will be rescheduled to another day.
Professor Terrance Chua, who heads the SingHealth cluster’s medical board, said all its institutions have stopped scheduling appointments for that day in view of the possible election.
He added: “Meanwhile, our doctors and medical teams are reviewing the list of patients with SOC appointments and surgery scheduled for Sept 1, so as to reschedule their appointments or surgery – if the need arises – to the next available slot based on their clinical needs.”
Their new appointments will be based on “clinical urgency and time-dependency”. The institutes will inform all patients who are affected.
He added that the cluster will “consider setting up make-up appointments for them where necessary”. This is to ensure that there is no interruption to urgent care, and that clinical care is not compromised.
Most of the other public health institutes are making similar arrangements.
The National Healthcare Group, helmed by Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said rescheduling of appointments has started and is based on clinical priorities.
The new appointments will be spread over the next few weeks. Its spokesman said: “Where feasible, we will also arrange teleconsultation sessions with eligible patients.”
The National University Health System said it is rescheduling both medical and dental appointments so that patients do not need to “re-queue”.
Its spokesman said: “We are actively working on rescheduling appointments on that day to alternative slots so that patients do not have to re-queue. To create the additional capacity, we are working on opening make-up clinics and extending clinic hours, or creating Saturday sessions, where possible, to accommodate those affected.
“When our polyclinics reopen on Saturday, Sept 2, we will continue to set aside slots for walk-in patients with urgent medical needs and elderly patients who are frail and have mobility issues.”
Patients who wish to reschedule their appointments on their own can use the OneNUHS app.
The three clusters said they hope to minimise disruptions as patient welfare is paramount.
On a typical day, the 23 government-run polyclinics in the three public clusters see close to 22,000 patients. The various hospital-based SOCs treat about 17,500 patients a day.
In the private sector, however, surgical procedures are likely to continue as scheduled.
A spokesman for IHH, which runs hospitals such as Mount Elizabeth Hospital and general practitioner clinics, said: “We will be making arrangements in our rostering to allow all our local staff to take part in the election.
“Meanwhile, we have not seen active rescheduling of cases so far and foresee minimal disruptions to hospital operations on Polling Day. Urgent cases or those that cannot be deferred will still go on and our hospitals remain ready to assist with any emergencies.”
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Reproduced with permission.
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