SINGAPORE: Although Eastern General Hospital (EGH) in Bedok North will be ready by 2030, some services are likely to start running around 2026, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said on Saturday (Apr 20).
These services include teleconsulting and remote monitoring, added Mr Ong at the groundbreaking ceremony of the hospital campus.
When the hospital campus is fully opened, it will have about 1,400 beds, offering inpatient and outpatient services across a range of clinical specialties and care settings.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) first announced its plans to build the new integrated hospital during the Committee of Supply debate in March 2020.
It will be located next to Bedok North MRT station, bounded by Bedok Reservoir Road and Bedok North Road.
Several new and unique features will be incorporated into EGH, differentiating it from other general hospitals in Singapore, said Mr Ong.
"First, EGH will be a more pandemic-ready hospital. The planning and design process benefited from the COVID-19 experience," he added.
"The team has therefore designed EGH to have wards that can be quickly converted for isolation use and to accommodate the need for bed surges during a pandemic."
That built-in flexibility means working spaces can be quickly segregated and new work arrangements can be supported amid a pandemic, without having to make major infrastructure changes.
"Second, EGH will be digitally enabled from the start. It will be well-equipped with IT infrastructure that is designed and incorporated from the outset," said Mr Ong.
"Its personnel will be trained and geared up to deliver telemedicine."
Currently, the limitations of teleconsultations mean that while patients "always say yes" when asked by their doctors if are keeping up with their rehabilitation exercises, they "cannot verify it".
The team at EGH is working on developing wearable sensors that could remotely track the frequency and accuracy of prescribed exercises.
"That will make teleconsult more effective," said Mr Ong.
"Third, because of its embrace of telemedicine and digital technology, EGH, and this is important, will be the first general hospital which is able to deliver its services before the completion of the physical hospital."
Mr Ong on Saturday explained how EGH will support the nearby Changi General Hospital (CGH).
"As we are aware, Changi General Hospital is facing a challenging capacity crunch and shouldering the rising healthcare needs of residents in the eastern region," he said.
CGH is increasing its emergency department's capacity and bed capacity over the next few years. MOH is also building a 200-bed transitional care facility at Upper Changi Road North, which is expected to be completed by January next year.
To further support CGH, EGH intends to start operations by running "virtual wards" around 2026.
"While they do not have a physical hospital, the healthcare workers will be nested in CGH," Mr Ong said. "They can use teleconsult, remote monitoring and move out to the community and into patients’ homes to deliver care."
This means the Mobile Inpatient Care-at-Home (MIC@Home) programme will be a combined effort between both hospitals, "significantly" enhancing and expanding home care for patients in the eastern part of Singapore.
The MIC@Home pilot, first launched in April 2022, offers patients the option to be cared for in their own homes instead of hospital wards.
Selected patients with conditions classified under general medicine, like skin infections, can be admitted to a "virtual" ward, where they will have round-the-clock access to care delivered by a team of healthcare professionals via teleconsultations and home visits until deemed fit for discharge.
Another feature at EGH will be the Computer Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE), enabling patients to do a virtual “walkthrough” with simulated realism and depth.
"It can provide feedback which allows the team to make adjustments almost immediately," Mr Ong said.
"For example, in an operating theatre, there are various services and equipment tucked into the ceiling. We use CAVE to help resolve potential clashes of these services and equipment."
Mr Ong also touched on how the standardisation and use of technology will improve development productivity, adding that the authorities aim to reduce the time taken from conceptualisation to the operation of a new general hospital.
"It now takes about seven to nine or 10 years. We should bring it down to five to seven years in the near future."
Together with a new public hospital in Tengah, Singapore will have a total of 13 public acute hospitals and 12 community hospitals by the early 2030s, MOH said last month.
Continue reading...
These services include teleconsulting and remote monitoring, added Mr Ong at the groundbreaking ceremony of the hospital campus.
When the hospital campus is fully opened, it will have about 1,400 beds, offering inpatient and outpatient services across a range of clinical specialties and care settings.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) first announced its plans to build the new integrated hospital during the Committee of Supply debate in March 2020.
It will be located next to Bedok North MRT station, bounded by Bedok Reservoir Road and Bedok North Road.
Several new and unique features will be incorporated into EGH, differentiating it from other general hospitals in Singapore, said Mr Ong.
"First, EGH will be a more pandemic-ready hospital. The planning and design process benefited from the COVID-19 experience," he added.
"The team has therefore designed EGH to have wards that can be quickly converted for isolation use and to accommodate the need for bed surges during a pandemic."
That built-in flexibility means working spaces can be quickly segregated and new work arrangements can be supported amid a pandemic, without having to make major infrastructure changes.
"Second, EGH will be digitally enabled from the start. It will be well-equipped with IT infrastructure that is designed and incorporated from the outset," said Mr Ong.
"Its personnel will be trained and geared up to deliver telemedicine."
Currently, the limitations of teleconsultations mean that while patients "always say yes" when asked by their doctors if are keeping up with their rehabilitation exercises, they "cannot verify it".
The team at EGH is working on developing wearable sensors that could remotely track the frequency and accuracy of prescribed exercises.
"That will make teleconsult more effective," said Mr Ong.
"Third, because of its embrace of telemedicine and digital technology, EGH, and this is important, will be the first general hospital which is able to deliver its services before the completion of the physical hospital."
Related:
EGH TO SUPPORT CHANGI GENERAL HOSPITAL
Mr Ong on Saturday explained how EGH will support the nearby Changi General Hospital (CGH).
"As we are aware, Changi General Hospital is facing a challenging capacity crunch and shouldering the rising healthcare needs of residents in the eastern region," he said.
CGH is increasing its emergency department's capacity and bed capacity over the next few years. MOH is also building a 200-bed transitional care facility at Upper Changi Road North, which is expected to be completed by January next year.
To further support CGH, EGH intends to start operations by running "virtual wards" around 2026.
"While they do not have a physical hospital, the healthcare workers will be nested in CGH," Mr Ong said. "They can use teleconsult, remote monitoring and move out to the community and into patients’ homes to deliver care."
This means the Mobile Inpatient Care-at-Home (MIC@Home) programme will be a combined effort between both hospitals, "significantly" enhancing and expanding home care for patients in the eastern part of Singapore.
The MIC@Home pilot, first launched in April 2022, offers patients the option to be cared for in their own homes instead of hospital wards.
Selected patients with conditions classified under general medicine, like skin infections, can be admitted to a "virtual" ward, where they will have round-the-clock access to care delivered by a team of healthcare professionals via teleconsultations and home visits until deemed fit for discharge.
Another feature at EGH will be the Computer Automated Virtual Environment (CAVE), enabling patients to do a virtual “walkthrough” with simulated realism and depth.
"It can provide feedback which allows the team to make adjustments almost immediately," Mr Ong said.
"For example, in an operating theatre, there are various services and equipment tucked into the ceiling. We use CAVE to help resolve potential clashes of these services and equipment."
Mr Ong also touched on how the standardisation and use of technology will improve development productivity, adding that the authorities aim to reduce the time taken from conceptualisation to the operation of a new general hospital.
"It now takes about seven to nine or 10 years. We should bring it down to five to seven years in the near future."
Together with a new public hospital in Tengah, Singapore will have a total of 13 public acute hospitals and 12 community hospitals by the early 2030s, MOH said last month.
Continue reading...