Yishun Community Hospital to help relieve congestion at KTPH
Yishun Community Hospital under construction on 10 Apr 2015,photo by Wee Teck Hian
SINGAPORE — When the Yishun Community Hospital (YCH) opens at the end of this year, it will help relieve some of the patient load at the adjacent Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH).
Instead of staying in a general and acute care public hospital that treats those with more critical conditions, a patient in need of rehabilitation can move to YCH for his next phase of treatment.
Upon discharge, he will continue to receive medical care through home visits by community nurses and at outpatient clinics.
The 428-bed community hospital, which offers intermediate care, had its topping-out ceremony yesterday.
Slated to open in December, the 10-storey YCH will initially have 170 beds available for patients, with the rest of its beds and services to be opened up progressively.
Apart from offering sub-acute and palliative care, the hospital will also serve patients with dementia or in need of rehabilitation.
The hospital’s proximity to KTPH — they are connected by a sky bridge — will enable patients to be transferred quickly from one hospital to the other. This will not only help relieve congestion at KTPH, but also reduce the waiting time for beds there.
Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, who officiated the topping-up ceremony, said teams from both hospitals will ensure that KTPH patients “are transferred seamlessly and expediently to undergo further rehab and therapy at YCH”.
“Through integration of care, the patients recover faster and have an overall shorter stay in the hospitals. Beyond supporting the acute hospital, YCH will also provide consultation services to support nursing homes and homecare providers in the region,” he added.
Dr Pauline Tan, YCH’s chief executive officer, said: “About one-third of YCH’s patients will be patients who need sub-acute care. These are patients whose medical conditions have stabilised, but who still require continuing clinical management.
“Currently, such patients stay between 10 and 20 days in an acute setting. With YCH, these patients can continue to receive the appropriate level of care by qualified staff in a less costly setting.” Jordon Simpson
