MOH urges patients with mild symptoms to avoid going to hospitals

The Ministry of Health (MOH) released a statement on Feb 6, stating that only those who require emergency care should visit hospital Emergency Departments (EDs). 

The statement came after EDs received high amounts of traffic, causing long queues and waiting times. Most of these patients did not require urgent care. 

The Children’s Emergency (CE) departments at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and National University Hospital also had an influx of paediatric patients, with more than 650 patients being admitted daily this week. 

This was an increase from an average of 450 patients being admitted into CEs in early January. However, around 80 per cent of new cases had only mild symptoms, and were discharged shortly after their visits. 

MOH urged those with mild or non life-threatening symptoms to visit their general practitioners or a clinic instead, so as to not flood hospitals and potentially delay or lower the standard of treatment for those who require emergency medical care. 

Examples of serious or life-threatening symptoms are chest pain, breathlessness and uncontrollable bleeding. 

If one suspects they have COVID-19, they can visit Public Health Preparedness Clinics (PHPCs) to be assessed. There are over 700 PHPCs open after office hours all over Singapore, and six paediatric swab centres for children aged 6 and below.