Achieve better risk management against communicable disease outbreaks

18 Apr 2005

Question No:  76  

Question

Name of the Person: Dr Tan Sze Wee, Nominated Member of Parliament

To ask the Minister for Health, in order to achieve better risk management against communicable disease outbreaks, will he consider having measures to 'disperse' the risk of large numbers of immunocompromised inpatients, namely hematology, oncology and renal failure patients, from the Singapore General Hospital by increasing the availability of immunocompromised clinical specialities in the other public sector hospitals.

Reply

Reply From MOH

Dr Tan Sze Wee suggested that we disperse the immuno-compromised patients, such as hematology, oncology and renal failure patients, among the various public hospitals, instead of concentrating them in the Singapore General Hospital. This is to minimize the risk of a major communicable disease outbreak causing havoc among these patients. 

We do spread out such patients. In addition to SGH, these patients are treated in the National University Hospital, the KK Hospital and the Tan Tock Seng Hospital. 

However to distribute these tertiary specialties to all hospitals as a policy would not be practical. A tertiary specialty does require a critical mass of expertise, supported by a minimum volume of patient load. Otherwise, there will be wastages of duplication and inadequate opportunity for our clinicians to sharpen their skills. 

In any case, there is no excuse for poor standard of infection control practices. This is ultimately the most effective means to minimize such disease outbreak.