Alexandra Hospital to receive emergency ambulance cases from Oct 1

SINGAPORE – Alexandra Hospital (AH), which currently operates an urgent care centre that handles acute care cases but not emergency ambulance cases, will start receiving ambulance cases from Oct 1.

The move is part of the hospital’s efforts to ramp up its emergency response in preparation for a fully functioning emergency department (ED) in 2028, when the hospital is redeveloped into an integrated health campus. 

From Oct 1, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) ambulances will be sending certain non-life-threatening cases – such as breathlessness, giddy spells, fractures, rashes and allergies – to the hospital if they are from the vicinity, said Dr Keith Ho, a senior consultant emergency physician and head of AH’s urgent care centre. 

However, if a case turns out to be life-threatening, the hospital and ED team would still be able to handle it, he added. 

This initiative at AH is part of a broader national effort to balance ED workloads and reduce wait times of emergency services.  

Singapore is facing growing healthcare demand as the population ages, with emergency medical services experiencing a significant increase in demand.

In 2024, the SCDF responded to over 245,000 calls made to the 995 emergency hotline, averaging 672 a day – a 57 per cent increase from 2014.

AH will progressively ramp up its capacity to receive all emergency cases.

“We are staffed by emergency medicine specialists and nurses with specialised emergency training, so we can provide emergency services.

“But in the back end, we do not have a 24/7 emergency operating theatre to support surgical emergencies and the staff for that on standby. Hence, we are not yet a fully functioning ED,” said Dr Ho.

The hospital’s pool of ED doctors work at both AH and the National University Hospital. These hospitals are under the National University Health System cluster.

Dr Ho said that typically, at any one time, there are one or two ED specialists and three to five junior doctors on duty.

AH has not received emergency ambulance cases for 10 years, after its ED closed for renovations in 2015. It subsequently opened as an acute care clinic. Generally, the hospital’s urgent care centre, which operates round the clock, gets about 2,000 patients a month, which works out to 60 to 70 patients a day. 

AH is expecting 10 to 15 ambulance cases a day on weekdays.

It said the average wait time at its urgent care centre is unlikely to be significantly affected by the additional cases.

The average wait time is about one to two hours during non-peak hours and more than two hours during peak hours, for instance, at the start of the week or in the mornings.

Currently, patients can access AH’s urgent care centre through private ambulances, referrals from polyclinics and general practitioners, or as walk-ins. Charges at the centre start from $145.75.

Dr Ho said those with non-life-threatening conditions should seek care at primary care clinics, but they can call 995 if they are unsure about the severity of their conditions. 

“Generally, the underlying message is: If you think that you don’t need to go to an emergency department, consider other options.”

Patients who have been admitted to AH previously and primary care doctors can call the NUHS Virtual Care Centre on 6995-3619 to find out if the symptoms warrant a hospital visit.

There is also a new medical triage helpline on 6262-6262 for non-life-threatening medical conditions. It is called NurseFirst, and is manned by nurses trained in emergency triage.

If cases are assessed to be non-life-threatening, SCDF said it will transfer them to NurseFirst. The public can also call in for timely advice at no cost.

The service is being piloted by SCDF and Woodlands Health to help manage the load coming through 995. They said they will monitor and assess the six-month trial, which started in June, to see if it should be extended.