New heart centre will 'wrap services around the patient'
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An artist's impression (above) of a specialist outpatient clinic at the new National Heart Centre Singapore. The clinics will use accent colours such as orange, which are easy to spot for the elderly. The department entrance is marked by a panel that is lit up, with the same colour to tell the patient he is heading the right way. -- PHOTOS: NATIONAL HEART CENTRE SINGAPORE
- PHOTOS: NATIONAL HEART CENTRE SINGAPORE
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When registering or making payment, there will be a lower counter (above) with a recessed bottom for wheelchair users. A higher counter beside this will be for caregivers who are standing. There will also be partitions to help block out sound, as elderly patients may be hard of hearing. -- PHOTOS: NATIONAL HEART CENTRE SINGAPORE
An artist's impression (above) of a specialist outpatient clinic at the new National Heart Centre Singapore. The clinics will use accent colours such as orange, which are easy to spot for the elderly. The department entrance is marked by a panel that is lit up, with the same colour to tell the patient he is heading the right way. -- PHOTOS: NATIONAL HEART CENTRE SINGAPORE
When registering or making payment, there will be a lower counter (above) with a recessed bottom for wheelchair users. A higher counter beside this will be for caregivers who are standing. There will also be partitions to help block out sound, as elderly patients may be hard of hearing. -- PHOTOS: NATIONAL HEART CENTRE SINGAPORE
A new 12-storey, $266 million building set to open at the end of next year will mean that patients at the National Heart Centre Singapore will no longer have to go on an "Amazing Race" around the campus to get the services they need.
The building will operate on a new concept that "wraps services around the patient", said its chief operating officer, Mr Alson Goh.
This means that patients can see a doctor, have a blood test and an electrocardiogram (ECG) on the same floor, he explained.
"A lot of elderly people get disoriented and lost easily, especially if they have to walk from place to place for services."
