SINGAPORE: A netizen posted a photo of the wait time for beds at a local hospital appeared to be shocked, asking in a Reddit post if this is normal. The post author added that it was the first time they were in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department and needed to be admitted but felt “curious.”
The photo, posted by u/gametheorista on r/Singapore on Friday (Aug 16) is from the National University Hospital (NUH) and shows that the Estimated Bed Wait Time was 29 hours at the General Area for adults, 3 hours at the Isolation Area, and 3 hours at well at the General Area for children.
It also contains the following message: “We provide care for the most critical cases first. Estimated wait times displayed are approximate and for information only. Wait times may increase unexpectedly when there is a high demand.”
The post has received over a hundred comments so far, and many Reddit users reassured the post author that while these wait times may be normal, people who need urgent care are attended to within a short amount of time.
Others told u/gametheorista that the long wait times are meant to discourage people with non-emergency cases from going to the A&E department.
“Very normal these funny wait times, I bypassed the e ward wait time because I was rushed in for appendicitis, got a doctor immediately, got a bed immediately, they do have standby bed for emergency maybe, I’m not sure, but I certainly remember being put in a bed really really quickly. but these figures are here to deter those who really want to Keng into a hospital bed,” wrote one.
“When I went A&E in another public hospital they put me on a bed immediately after checking my blood pressure (checking like 3 times cos they didn’t believe it was that low)… I remember being rushed around a whole bunch of scans and tests very efficiently, I think if it looks serious enough you’ll be cared for quickly,” wrote another.
“NUH is rarely this bad. But it happens once in a while. Anyway, if your condition is serious, they’ll admit you quickly. These wait times apply to non-life-threatening conditions,” a commenter chimed in.
Last year, the median wait time at hospitals’ A&E departments had reportedly gone up from around five to 7.2 hours, and some hospitals experienced longer wait times than others. At the time, the Ministry of Health (MOH) attributed this to a rise in both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients.
According to the latest data from MOH, this has moderated since then. /TISG
Read also: Letter to the Editor: Why hospital A&E department waiting times are long