Towards the end of April 2021, a fully vaccinated nurse at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) tested positive for COVID-19.
Many feared that infections would spread to other staff members and patients, and unfortunately, as of May 2021, that is exactly what has happened.
As a result, the hospital not only had to close its doors to visitors but was forced to stop admitting new patients.
Things have all gone downhill since then, which community infections spiking.
Fortunately, the hospital seems to be managing the COVID-19 outbreak well, as they’re reopening their doors to patients.
From Today Onwards, TTSH Will Resume Admissions After It Stopped Admitting Patients 2 Weeks Ago
From today (18 May), TTSH will resume admissions with extra safety measures in place.
The hospital’s mass testing exercise, which included six rounds of testing for inpatients and two rounds for all 12,000 staff on campus, has consistently returned negative results.
“This gives us added assurance that the containment measures are tight, and our processes have been in place across the hospital,” TTSH said yesterday (17 May).
Admissions resumed at 8:00am today, with safety measures in place to protect both patients and staff.
These include:
- Swabbing all patients upon admission on a regular schedule during their stay and prior to their discharge
- Making all inpatients wear surgical masks if they are able to wear one based on their medical condition
- Testing all inpatients who develop acute respiratory infection (ARI) symptoms
- Placing all discharged patients who are medically fit with consistent negative test results on stay-home notice (SHN) or quarantine order
- Ramping up disinfection of the premises
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be taking urgent ambulance cases to the hospital’s Emergency Department from 8:00am to 8:00pm daily.
Visiting Policy
Despite opening its doors to new patients, visitor restrictions will remain in place.
For the next two weeks, the hospital will only allow one pre-registered visitor per patient, with a limit of one visit per day of up to 30 minutes.
Visitors have to be masked at all times, and must refrain from eating and drinking during their visit.
Many TTSH Staff Members Have Faced Discrimination
According to CNA,many TTSH staff members have faced discrimination since the cluster formed at the hospital.
The cluster is still active, with 46 cases linked to it as of today.
Some TTSH employees said commuters have moved away from them on public transport when they are in uniform or wore their masks tighter against their faces.
Some staff members have even been asked to move out of their homes by their landlords.
But as K Thanaletchimi, president of the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU), noted, these are the people keeping us safe from COVID-19.
“We strongly believe that all workers should be treated with dignity and respect, this includes our healthcare workers, who have worked tirelessly to keep Singapore safe against the backdrop of COVID-19,” she said.
“We do not condone verbal and physical abuse, or any discrimination against our healthcare workers.”
Feature Image: kandl stock / Shutterstock.com
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