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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.

Improving health outcomes with hospital programmes
These are the key clinical programmes and services at SKH designed to provide individualised care through SKH’s multi-disciplinary, team-based approach for better treatment outcomes.

  • 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.

List of Clinical Specialties & Allied Health Services

Clinical Specialties
  • Anaesthesiology 
  • Breast Surgery 
  • Cardiology – NHCS @ SKH
  • Colorectal Surgery 
  • Dental by NDCS
  • Dermatology
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Endocrinology & Diabetes
  • Gastroenterology & Hepatology
  • General Medicine - Internal Medicine - Palliative Medicine
  • General Surgery - Thoracic Surgery
  • Geriatric Medicine
  • Haematology
  • Hand & Recon Microsurgery
  • Head & Neck Surgery
  • Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB)
  • Infectious Disease
  • Intensive Care Medicine
  • Interventional Radiology
  • Neurology
  • Neuroscience – NNI
  • Neurosurgery
  • Obstetrics and Gynaecology – KKH
  • Occupational Medicine
  • Oncology – NCCS @ SKH
  • Ophthalmology – SNEC @ SKH
  • Orthopaedics Surgery
  • Otolaryngology (ENT)
  • Paediatrics - KKH
  • Pain Management - Acupuncture
  • Pathology
  • Plastic Surgery
  • Psychiatry
  • Radiology
  • Rehabilitation Medicine
  • Renal Medicine
  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Rheumatology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Upper GI & Bariatric Surgery
  • Urology 
  • Vascular Surgery

Allied Health
  • Audiology
  • Clinical Measurement Centre (Cardiology, Neurology, Vascular, Pulmonary and Sleep Diagnostics)
  • Dietetics
  • Medical Social Services
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Pharmacy
  • Physiotherapy
  • Podiatry
  • Psychology
  • Respiratory Therapy
  • Speech Therapy



SENGKANG COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

Part of a larger family – SingHealth Community Hospitals
Sengkang Community Hospital (SKCH) is part of the SingHealth Community Hospitals (SCH) formed in 2017, which also oversees two other community hospitals – Bright Vision Hospital and the upcoming Outram Community Hospital. Together, the three community hospitals will help to meet the growing demand as our healthcare landscape shifts with the ageing population.

SKCH works closely with Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) to ensure a seamless transition of care for patients who require continuing care after their stay at the general hospital. The team at SKCH is also in close communication with other acute hospitals such as the Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital for patient referrals.


Building strong rapport with community partners to bring better care for patients
Besides working closely with acute hospitals and other healthcare institutions to fine-tune processes and provide a hassle-free experience for patients, the institution is also looking to build long-term working relationships with community partners. SCH has since connected with several stakeholders, especially those in the region and even those in the non-healthcare sectors, to provide patients with a more holistic care plan that will help them to recover well and transit back to their normal lives after discharge. Patients can also benefit from a better coordination of care as they are able to explore more options for post-discharge care with a wider network of community care partners.


  • Bringing care services closer to patients and caregivers
    Healthcare and social care partners such as the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) and AMKFSC Community Services currently reach out to the community through SKCH’s dedicated, one-stop Patient Service Centre (PSC). Patients and caregivers are able to get more information on the care services which they require while they or their loved ones are still staying in the hospital. SKCH medical social workers also work collaboratively at an early stage with these community partners to help identify socially complex cases.

  • Partnering beyond healthcare
    Reminiscence Therapy - Reconnecting with the past, moving on into the future
    In January 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between SCH and the National Heritage Board (NHB), which sees a unique partnership between the healthcare and heritage sectors, to co-create and co-deliver care programmes for patients that will go beyond the biological aspect and focus on the psycho-social, emotional and social well-being of patients.

    The Reminiscence Therapy Programme is the first of such collaboration for both institutions, which comprises a 16-week line-up of in-depth engagement activities for patients at SKCH. Subject matter experts from NHB visit the SKCH wards to engage elderly patients in various activities based on the content of NHB’s Heritage Institutions and National Collection. This includes hands-on activities and patient-led conversations on their life experiences and memories, which will support patients’ rehabilitation as they journey on the recovery process. To add to the heritage and cultural experience that enhances well-being, patients, together with their family members and caregivers, will also go on guided visits to the Heritage Institutions.

    By encouraging them to revisit and reconnect with their past, the programme aims to improve the mood and memory of the elderly patients.

  • Working towards a better environment for seniors
    To better understand and support the needs of the growing silver generation as well as their caregivers, SCH has signed another MOU in February with the Singapore University of Social Sciences and the Changi General Hospital, to collaborate on projects that will help to raise awareness of ageing issues as well as advocate for a better environment for the seniors. This tripartite partnership will see the three parties cooperate on healthcare innovation, research and education matters, and share their domain expertise through various platforms such as at the school’s lectures and on hospital grounds.

  • Bringing the community to patients
    To provide patients with a hospital environment where they can move around freely and engage in activities which they normally would when they are out and about in the community, SCH has partnered with the National Library Board (NLB), to bring in donated books to SKCH regularly, allowing patients and caregivers the opportunity to read or take home the books at their convenience. The books are housed in the community library area of the PSC.

    SCH has also joined forces with 14 primary and secondary schools from five North Zone clusters, such as Bowen Secondary, North Spring Primary and Sengkang Secondary, to combine arts with healing in the healthcare environment.

    Known as SchoolARTS @ SKH Campus, paintings and murals by students from the participating schools are displayed along hospital corridors and common areas. There are also scheduled music performances by students in the wards and open spaces in the Campus. This would bring about positive impact on the social well-being of patients, caregivers, visitors and even the hospital staff, and is also a good platform to get the younger generation to be more socially engaged with the community and to heighten their awareness towards Singapore’s ageing healthcare landscape.