Room Enough for 6 Million?
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With the current population as it is, hospitals are already hard put to room patients. What will happen, when we reach 6 million?
They can acknowledge that this is due to a higher than normal cases of infectious deseases, but hwy do you think this is so? Take a look at how crowded our MRT is during peak hours, and you can have a good idea what is causing a higher cases of infections....
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Hospitals running out of room
By Tan Hui Leng, TODAY | Posted: 18 May 2007 0758 hrs
SINGAPORE: A spike in infectious disease cases and other factors have pushed occupancy rates up at hospitals here — resulting in patients in C- and B2-class wards engaged in a game of musical chairs or, in this case, beds.
From putting orthopaedic patients in psychiatric wards, to giving C-class patients free upgrades, the healthcare institutions are trying more than ever to cope with the burgeoning patient load.
The National University Hospital (NUH), for one, is "filled to the brim", one doctor told TODAY. "We have been told to hold off elective day surgeries and every day, we're urged to discharge patients quickly if they are fit enough to go home," he said.
The NUH said occupancy rates had hit 90 to 95 per cent in the last three weeks. Singapore General Hospital has seen 89- to 97-per-cent bed occupancy over the past two weeks.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), meanwhile, has hovered at between 88- and 93-per-cent occupancy this year. The hospital's former chief operating officer Christopher Tay explained: "At every hospital, there is a trigger point for bed occupancy which averages 80 per cent across different departments.
"When these points are hit, the bed management units at hospitals will tell doctors to 'actively discharge' patients."
However, doctors would only persuade patients who are truly fit enough to go home, assured Mr Tay.
"Many patients are actually fit to go home but remain due to social reasons such as not having a carer at home. If the trigger point has not been met, doctors usually give such patients the benefit of the doubt. But if they occupy a bed when a patient who is truly ill needs it, then they need to be persuaded to be discharged."
With the heavily subsidised C-class wards often full, incoming patients have to be directed to wards for other specialities or upgraded to higher-class wards. But they continue to enjoy the 80-per-cent subsidy on their ward charges.
While hospitals can just about cope with the normal overflow, the situation is compounded seasonally. Currently, the virus du jour is the flu, with upper respiratory tract infections at polyclinics up 40 per cent last week over the same period last year.
Also in the air are dengue fever, chicken pox, and hand, foot and mouth disease, with a spike in cases. So it is no surprise if, in general, the 65-per-cent subsidised B2 class wards are full as well, said Mr Tay.
"It's very busy, there just seems to be many more sick people around," a Changi General Hospital doctor told Today.
The usually calm 775-bed hospital in Simei has had patients fill beds in wards not designated for their conditions, as public hospitals only transfer patients to another hospital as a last resort.
As C-class wards are perpetually in high demand, no adequate solution seems to be in sight, even as the unpopular move that is means-testing has been mooted. And simply increasing the number of such beds may not be the good idea it seems.
Said Mr Tay: "We put in an extra C-class ward when I was at TTSH and it was quickly filled up; it's a bottomless pit."
- TODAY/so -
SINGAPORE: A spike in infectious disease cases and other factors have pushed occupancy rates up at hospitals here — resulting in patients in C- and B2-class wards engaged in a game of musical chairs or, in this case, beds
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I'm curious to know, what this "other factors" is...
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One of them is very obvious. Aging population.
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Overstayers...there are ppl who like the attention and do not wan to go backOriginally posted by ShutterBug:.
I'm curious to know, what this "other factors" is... -
Don't have we have multi-million dollars mini-stars to solve our problems?
Sad to say........I think they are more interested in solving their own pockets first.
I remembered someone said we have to run Singapore like operating a Company.
Some how, one or two companies that I came across, the company was so generous to give unconditional loans to its employees' son or daughter for further studies and maybe on other welfare as well. -
We have to build another bigger hospital...
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Why would they bother? The don't have to queue like the peasants. Increase till 10 million also like that.
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Precisely, how would they understand the ground situation....where they treated like Kings.Originally posted by maurizio13:Why would they bother? The don't have to queue like the peasants. Increase till 10 million also like that.
Hypocrisy is the word!!! -
there are many not enough in singapore.
1. shopping center not enough. --all shopping center crowded.
2. jobs not enough for singaporeans.---but jobs gone to foreigner.
3. beds not enough for singaporeans-- some beds goes to foreigner. -
Public hospitals too cheap....too many people who can afford private haelthcare choose to stay in public hospitals. Means testing is the way to go...force those who can afford it to go to the private sector.
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Yes indeed, I agree with you again that the high income patients should be channeled to private hospitals, by tagging their IC numbers to IRAS records which will surely reflect their income levels.Originally posted by oxford mushroom:Public hospitals too cheap....too many people who can afford private haelthcare choose to stay in public hospitals. Means testing is the way to go...force those who can afford it to go to the private sector.
But what 'Other Factors' are there, besides these cheapskate high income earners, hogging bed space? -
Income levels do not reflect the reality of consumable income.
Typical Singaporean bureaucrats, thinking in one direction only. Lazy buggers. -
Bugger.Originally posted by LazerLordz:Income levels do not reflect the reality of consumable income.
Typical Singaporean bureaucrats, thinking in one direction only. Lazy buggers.
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Exactly.Originally posted by LazerLordz:Income levels do not reflect the reality of consumable income.
Typical Singaporean bureaucrats, thinking in one direction only. Lazy buggers.
Did LKY consider SIA and the Singapore Medical Staff to be at his personal disposal at the snap of his fingers, during the time when his spouse had a stroke during their visit to UK ?
If means testing were to be used at that time, he should have chartered his own plane, or depended on his own Medevac Insurance Policy - considering that his visit to UK then was in his personal capacity, and not on offical duties.
Who knows if he had finally paid for the cost of converting an SIA B747 into a flying hospital, as he had finally submitted to an piqued public outcry ?
Singapore has room enough for a comfortable and humane living environment, if the Master's Voice and the Cabinet - that sets the policy for the Ministry of National Development - decide to be less driven by money in squeezing every millimeter of space at the highest rate of financial return; but to diligently and conciensiously plan for a truly LIVING SPACE befitting humans living in a First World at the lowest possible cost that make us unique from all other First World Countries. -
hong kong is approximately three times the size of singapore .... and even THEY are feeling the effects of over-crowding .....
would anyone need 10 A's to figure out what it'll be like for us ? ...
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I have a feeling the Govt will, in typical fashion, raise taxes saying that more infrastructure needed to support the 6 million....
Circular reasoning as usual. -
Most of the land is un-inhabited? Actually it is not so bad for them.Originally posted by Fatum:hong kong is approximately three times the size of singapore .... and even THEY are feeling the effects of over-crowding .....
I dunno where we get the land to build housing for 6 million. Convert SAFTI training areas to residential? -
If you look at the google earth map of Singapore, there are not much spaces left except for the coastal areas in the northern shores along Admiralty Road-Sembawang, the north-eastern corner along the TPE, and south-east corner along ECP, the south-west corner along Pasir Panjang, and the SAFTI training area in the north-west corner.Originally posted by Icemoon:Most of the land is un-inhabited? Actually it is not so bad for them.
I dunno where we get the land to build housing for 6 million. Convert SAFTI training areas to residential?
Toa Payoh and Bukit Merah have seen the demolishing of older HDB flats, and new ones being constructed that are up to 30 floors tall, and even higher HDB blocks are to be built later when reviews are made.
With HDB flats and Private Appartments going ever taller, and more military training areas given up as the SAF trains overseas, there is a good chacne that the original goals will need to be reviewed. -
With earthquakes around our region inching CLOSER to us, I think building all these extra-high HDB flats without incorporating Quake-Resistant features is a BIG MISTAKE - for yet another U-Turn in future...
All we need, is just one incident of a quake coming close enough to cause some degree of damage and mayhem (however slight), and the ball game for our gov and all of us will be permanently changed...
That time, you WILL see a larger local migration trend...
It will well be, the Last Straw for the locals.. -
You do know that some families have larger income but more mouths to feed?Originally posted by ShutterBug:Yes indeed, I agree with you again that the high income patients should be channeled to private hospitals, by tagging their IC numbers to IRAS records which will surely reflect their income levels.
But what 'Other Factors' are there, besides these cheapskate high income earners, hogging bed space? -
Our All Knowing gov shold have all the pertinent family details of those High Income patients who have a large family to care for financially, and make exceptions based accordingly.Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:You do know that some families have larger income but more mouths to feed?
Unless they stick to their rules blindly again, then it's another LPPL scenario... -
They have been doing so for a long while. Families living in 5-room flats not because they have high income but because they have larger families. Yet they receive less electric and water tax benefits than those who live in smaller flats and higher income/smaller family. I believe this example applies for other policies as well.Originally posted by ShutterBug:Our All Knowing gov shold have all the pertinent family details of those High Income patients who have a large family to care for financially, and make exceptions based accordingly.
Unless they stick to their rules blindly again, then it's another LPPL scenario... -
Problem with them is their habit of casting Wide Net Policies; implement a ruling and just sit back and leave it in Auto-pilot...Originally posted by Fingolfin_Noldor:They have been doing so for a long while. Families living in 5-room flats not because they have high income but because they have larger families. Yet they receive less electric and water tax benefits than those who live in smaller flats and higher income/smaller family. I believe this example applies for other policies as well.
I know, they are not accustomed to doing extra work to differentiate between these two income groups who either by circumstance or by choice, elects to live in a 5 room HDB or 3 room HDB....
In spite of having the ability to track down Tax-due individuals who are on the other side of the planet, they are unable to single out the needies from the outright greedy and manipulative locals...
It's just so ironice of them.. but I say they shun hard work...
Just cast a Wide Net over any issues at hand is all they will do... -
Which I think is the main beef with means testing. Did they even go public with the formula? I have yet to read anything on it, or I missed it.Originally posted by ShutterBug:Problem with them is their habit of casting Wide Net Policies; implement a ruling and just sit back and leave it in Auto-pilot...
I know, they are not accustomed to doing extra work to differentiate between these two income groups who either by circumstance or by choice, elects to live in a 5 room HDB or 3 room HDB....
In spite of having the ability to track down Tax-due individuals who are on the other side of the planet, they are unable to single out the needies from the outright greedy and manipulative locals...
It's just so ironice of them.. but I say they shun hard work...
Just cast a Wide Net over any issues at hand is all they will do... -
In all that matters, best wishes goes out to JBJ in his latest endeavour to form another party to reform the way Singapore has been run all these decades...
A louder, stronger voice, is MUCH NEEDED in Parliament, for The People!!!