Seven-hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad

The Straits Times (Singapore)
August 13, 2005 Saturday
ST Forum
Seven-hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad
RECENTLY, my father, who is in his late 70s and has multiple illnessesand end-stage renal failure, had to wait seven hours for a bed at theSingapore General Hospital (SGH).
My father, who underwent a heart bypass last October, had developed afever on the night of July 7. The next morning, when we noticed thathis AV graft site (access site for dialysis) was reddish - a sign ofpossible infection - we rushed him to the A & E Department at SGH.
We were concerned about what an infection could do to someone in aweakened state and were hoping that early intervention would helparrest the infection. We reached the A & E Department at about 9.45amand as there were not many patients, he was seen quite quickly and thedoctor confirmed that there was an infection and he needed to beadmitted.
We were told that as no bed was available, he would be placed in theobservation ward first. This had happened many times before and wewere prepared to wait for one to two hours for a bed for him.
However, it was not until seven hours later that he was wheeled intothe ward. During this time, no doctor came to see him. Only the nursescame to take his temperature and blood pressure regularly.
By then, the reddish area around the AV graft site had grown to thesize of an egg and begun to swell. At 4.45pm, my dad became delirious.He tried to jump from the bed and only the presence of my maidprevented him from doing so.
A doctor finally attended to him at about 5pm, the first one to seehim since he was placed in the observation ward. Only then was a bloodtest done and a plug inserted.
At about 4pm, I called the service quality department and spoke to aNicole who informed me that SGH was facing an acute shortage of beds.
After checking the system, she told me that a bed had been assigned at3-plus. Asked why my dad was still in the observation area, she saidit might be because they were waiting for the staff to wheel him tothe ward.
At 5-plus, I asked the nurses why my dad was still in the observationward. They told me that they were shorthanded and there was no one towheel him to the ward. My dad was finally wheeled there at about6.30pm.
Imagine a four-hour wait for a bed to be assigned and another threehours for staff to wheel him there! Our objective in rushing my fatherto the hospital for early treatment was defeated. By the time he wasin the ward, his fever was 38.5 deg C.
What irked me throughout the ordeal was that there was no apology orexplanation. It seemed to be accepted that patients have to wait sevenhours before being wheeled into the ward.
Rodziah Shaari (Ms)
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Aug 18, 2005
SGH, REPLY
Shortage of 'specialty' beds delayed admission
I REFER to Ms Rodziah Shaari's letter, 'Seven-hour wait at SGH for bed for sick dad' (ST, Aug 13).
We would like to apologise to Ms Rodziah and her father for the discomfort and distress that they experienced while waiting for admission at our Department of Emergency Medicine on July 8.
When patients arrive at our Emergency Department, they are triaged and given the necessary attention, depending on the urgency of their medical condition.
Our doctor saw Ms Rodziah's father within 30 minutes of his arrival. When he was assessed to require admission, he was sent to the Observation Ward, where patients are observed before discharge, or subsequently admitted as an in-patient. Patients at the Observation Ward have their medical conditions monitored regularly and carefully.
SGH has an operating philosophy of not turning away patients who present themselves at our doors. Over the last two years, the hospital has seen a trend of increasing attendances and admissions through our Emergency Department. Patients who are unable to seek medical attention elsewhere will invariably turn to SGH.
We admit patients to the wards according to the specialty treatment needed so that they can be cared by doctors and nurses who are specially trained to handle their condition.
Notwithstanding this, when the occupancy rate is high, we will admit patients to any available ward, if necessary.
On the day of Ms Rodziah's father's admission, we saw about 100 emergency admissions, out of which 61 patients were critically ill and were major emergencies. This affected the response time of our staff.
However, we would like to assure Ms Rodziah that her father was monitored regularly. He had waited a longer time for admission because there was a shortage of beds in the specialty ward he was to be admitted and in the other wards.
SGH is taking concrete steps to optimise the use of our capacity in view of rising demand so that inconvenience and discomfort to our patients and their families are minimised.
Every patient is important to us and we seek the understanding of the public when our waiting times are longer than expected.
Foo Hee Jug
Chief Operating OfficerSingapore General Hospital
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