Official Opening of Sengkang General and Community Hopitals

​23 March 2019

Media Release

OFFICIAL OPENING OF SENGKANG GENERAL AND COMMUNITY HOSPITALS

The integrated hospital campus housing Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) and Sengkang Community Hospital (SKCH) was officially opened today by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Located in the heart of the Northeast region, the hospitals serve the healthcare needs of residents by bringing specialised care closer to them. The new hospitals will expand the national capacity to support Singapore’s changing demographics and ageing population.

A range of clinical specialties and medical services are offered at SKH, with some provided in partnership with national specialty centres. The integration of an acute hospital and community hospital in one campus provides patients with a ‘one care plan, one patient experience’, with seamless transition of care from diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitative and community care.

SKH and SKCH progressively opened from 18 August 2018 and 28 August 2018 respectively. The hospitals currently operate about 500 acute and 150 community hospital beds, and more beds will be opened progressively to meet rising patient demand. When fully opened, SKH and SKCH will add 1,000 acute and 400 community beds respectively to the national healthcare capacity.

“We had two important goals when we opened our doors last August. First, we had to ensure that our facilities and systems run smoothly and safely for our patients, and we continue to improve our processes and workflows. Secondly, we want to continue to build a good health network in the community, from helping the population maintain a healthy lifestyle, to providing appropriate treatment and care, as well as follow through with coordinated support services for patients after discharge. This is a collective effort, and we are grateful to our many partners who have journeyed and collaborated with us for the past 7 years to bring these goals to fruition,” said Prof Christopher Cheng, SKH’s Chief Executive Officer.


Seamless care facilitated by co-location of SKH and SKCH
Patients who are admitted into SKH will receive acute, multi-disciplinary and holistic care to treat and stabilise their conditions. They will benefit from having a primary doctor oversee and coordinate their care throughout their hospitalisation stay and follow-up visits. This helps minimise the duplication of treatments, procedures and multiple appointments which enables our medical team to deliver better health outcomes. Patients who require continuing care can be transferred to SKCH for rehabilitation and sub-acute care to improve their function (e.g. in performing activities of daily living such as dressing) before returning home and back into the community.

“Since opening, we have ramped up our wards, fine-tuned procedures to ensure a seamless transition of care for our patients, as well as improved our hospital environment and care programmes to help our patients achieve their health goals. Our strong partnership with the general hospitals and new collaborations with community partners have allowed us to formulate a holistic care plan for our patients, and we will continue to build strong working relationships with various stakeholders to better coordinate care for our patients after discharge and prepare their transition back home or in the community,” added Ms Margaret Lee, Chief Executive Officer for the


SingHealth Community Hospitals.
Patients who require transfer to SKCH can start their rehabilitation early while still receiving inpatient medical treatment at SKH. This is made possible because of the co-management of patient care from both clinical teams who collaborate, share information and co-design the care plan so that patients can get a head start in the healing process.

To better facilitate transfers from the acute hospital to the community hospital, the two hospitals have also designed a simplified referral template to streamline processes. This expedites financial counselling and transfers with staff liaising with patients at the bedside before admission to the community hospital, providing clear information and guidance for patients and their caregivers.

In addition, the seamless transition of care ensures that patients who benefit from direct admissions from SKH’s Emergency Department (ED) to SKCH wards can receive appropriate care quickly and efficiently. If patients at SKCH are required to return to the medical or surgical wards for further acute care, the co-location of both hospitals allows patients to be transferred directly from the community hospital ward to the acute hospital ward.


ANNEX A

SENGKANG GENERAL HOSPITAL

Bringing healthcare closer to residents
Offering a range of medical care services and co-located with a community hospital, Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) will deliver team-based and patient-centric care covering all major healthcare disciplines. Residents can access national specialty care services closer to home with SKH’s collaboration with the National Cancer Centre Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore National Eye Centre, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, National Dental Centre Singapore and National Neuroscience Institute.


Collaborations for Better Health in the Community
The SKH healthcare team has been working closely with GPs, other healthcare partners and community-based organisations to address prevalent health-related needs of the residents and also to extend care beyond hospital walls. More recent efforts in empowering communities to take charge of their health include increasing public awareness and education on chronic disease detection and management, frailty assessments and building an aware and supportive community.

• Community Health Screening – direct follow-ups with GPs
  SKH partners with GP clinics under the SingHealth Partners Primary Care Network (SingHealth Regional) to provide more holistic chronic disease management and screenings. SKH organises health screening events together with community partners and GPs in the region. The collaboration with GPs enables eligible people who are screened to continue their follow-ups at CHAS GP clinics. Timely follow-ups with GPs are critical for early intervention and treatment to prevent or delay the onset of chronic diseases.
  
  
• IPPT-S - keeping seniors out of hospital with preventive care
  SKH works with community partners such as senior activity centres to identify seniors for frailty screening and ensure follow-up care. Called IPPT-S for seniors, the programme is designed to detect and combat frailty early by testing participants on flexibility, strength and balance. Participants also gain insights into their frailty risk and are taught self-management plans for healthy aging. The frail and pre-frail seniors will be referred for medical follow-up at primary care providers, including polyclinics and GPs. The senior activity centres’ staff and volunteers are equipped to follow-up with participants on attending intervention exercise and nutrition programmes, co-developed with SKH.
  
  
• Building an empathetic and supportive community
  SKH is developing a dementia-friendly and inclusive hospital and community in the Northeast, by working with Forget Us Not, a joint initiative of the Lien Foundation and Alzheimer’s Disease Association, that seeks to create a dementia-friendly society, where neighbourhoods, businesses, institutions and organisations are trained to be supportive of persons with dementia. SKH has also embarked on a training programme for staff to identify, manage and support persons with dementia, as well as their caregivers, while building an empathetic and supportive community in the Northeast. In addition, a multi-disciplinary SKH team works with community partners, such as AMKFSC, on referral pathways for patients.

• The Programme for Enhanced Elderly Recovery at Sengkang General Hospital (PEERS) aims to help strengthen elderly patients undergoing surgery before their operation. The programme seeks to improve post-surgical outcomes, shortens the length of stay in the hospital, reduces post-surgical pain and restores normal physical functions more quickly. The programme includes assessments by SKH’s clinical professionals including our surgeons, nurses, physiotherapists, and dietitians, as well as exercise therapy, individualized dietary advice, meal plans and prescription of nutritional supplements.
  
  
• The Multidisciplinary Urologic Oncology Clinic is a clinical service unique to Sengkang General Hospital where urology cancer patients who require co-management by medical and surgical specialists participate in an inter-specialty consultation in real time. This reduces the need for multiple clinic visits and accelerates the decision-making process which is critical in oncology. Introduced in December last year, the clinic manages prostate, bladder, kidney and testicular cancer cases. The service is provided by urologists from SKH, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists from National Cancer Centre Singapore. Held in a single clinic session with all three specialists present, patients requiring chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery will gain a more comprehensive understanding of their treatment plan and are better involved in the decision-making.
  
  
• The Sengkang Weight Improvement Therapy & Complete Health (SWITCH) Centre provides integrated weight management care to help individuals achieve long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. Adopting a multidisciplinary team approach, bariatric physicians and surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists, physiotherapists, and dietitians guide individuals to lead a healthy lifestyle and achieve holistic wellness. The comprehensive services include dietary modification advice, exercise and physical activity, behavioural modification, medical therapy as well as bariatric metabolic surgery.