Facing COVID-19 Together

When new COVID-19 cases within TTSH emerged in end-April, the hospital had to quickly take action to ensure the safety of our patients and staff.

As we implemented tighter containment measures to reduce the risk of transmission within the community, we had to defer non-urgent specialist outpatient clinics (SOC) appointments until further notice. A group of patients from our Departments of Psychiatry and Orthopaedic Surgery are on regular injections for schizophrenia and osteoporosis, but unable to return to the SOC during this period for their due treatment.

GPs across Central Health who are part of the TTSH Community Right-Siting Programme (CRiSP) stepped up at this point to support our crisis management by following up with these patients. Their care is currently being managed by our GP partners so that they continue to receive their treatment in a timely manner.

Amidst the evolving situation, care providers across different care settings also adopted tighter safety measures to reduce the risk of transmission within the community, while ensuring the safety and well-being of staff as they continue to deliver better care. This has resulted in a sudden spike in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) utilisation for many.

Thanks to a generous donation by Shine-Tech Pte Ltd, 3,000 disposable face shields have been produced for community partners across Central Health. Designed by a multi-disciplinary team from TTSH, these face shields offer a cost-effective and user-friendly alternative to tight goggles. “During this pandemic, the face shields are extremely useful to protect staff who have to perform aerosolised procedures for our patients,” said Mdm Sim Teck Meh, Chief Nurse of Ren Ci Hospital.

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Together as a network of like-minded partners, Central Health will continue our ongoing endeavour of developing and sharing innovative ways to deliver better care across Central Singapore.

The Central Health network of partners work closely with one another to help patients smoothly transit across care sectors and remain well in the community, and we look forward to continuing our shared commitment to provide better care for our residents.