AN ELDERLY patient admitted to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) when he breaks a bone will now also get a complete medical screening, free, to see if he has any other conditions that may need to be treated.
The check is offered under a new scheme set up by SingHealth, which calls it the Geriatric Health Management Programme.
Said the programme's head, Dr Carol Goh: 'Some patients' families may not have the time to take them to see so many different specialists. So they may end up not going.'
The plan makes use of all the medical group's centres, which includes the national eye, heart, dental and cancer centres, and allows SGH to serve as a one-stop health centre for those aged 65 and older.
The scheme was started in the middle of last year in the orthopaedic department, after nurses and doctors there were trained to screen for other conditions, such as diabetes and hearing loss.
It will be extended to all specialities and institutions in the cluster, with the exception of paediatrics, within two years.
The scheme doesn't stop at screening. The recovery rate of patients is also closely monitored, and those who need more time to get on their feet, such as those with a hip fracture, are referred to Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital.
Doctors from the two hospitals have worked out an integrated programme to rehabilitate patients who are sent under the scheme as fast as possible.
This doesn't mean these patients are rushed out of SGH, said Dr Goh.
'We'll hold them back as long as necessary. The main aim is to get them to recover as soon as possible without compromising their care in any way.'
However, with better coordination between SGH departments to treat these people, many go home faster.
For example, those with a simple hip fracture who used to need about 12 days in hospital, now recover in about nine, as physiotherapy and other treatments are integrated.
The new scheme also offers new hope to those with broken bones who, for one medical reason or another, cannot be operated on.
In cases where the patient is bedridden, he is usually sent to a nursing home.
He may never walk again, because few nursing homes have staff with the know-how to help him.
With this in mind, staff at two nursing homes are being trained to rehabilitate these patients. More homes will be roped in later.
Meanwhile, the plan is already benefiting patients.
For instance, Madam Pang Sie Noi, 63, had weeks of therapy after hip and knee operations and is now able to shuffle.
Previously, she would have ended up in a home because her family was unable to care for her.
She said in Hokkien: 'At least now I can go home with my family. I don't want to go to a nursing home.'