Plans in place to raise hospital, ICU capacity in case of infection surge due to Omicron

Plans to ramp up the capacity of public hospitals and intensive care units are in place, given the higher transmissibility of the Omicron variant and the possibility of a surge in local cases.

Singapore's director of medical services Kenneth Mak said ICU capacity may need to be increased to 500 beds, up from the current 280.

It was increased from 180 ICU beds to 280 beds at the peak of the Delta wave in Singapore around end-October.

To help manage the load in public hospitals, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement that it is prepared to increase the capacity of community treatment facilities (CTFs) as well.

This is to facilitate direct admission or transfer of more stable Covid-19 patients from public hospitals to CTFs for continued monitoring if necessary.

"To complement these efforts, we are concurrently stepping up efforts to augment the manpower required in our hospitals and CTFs," it added.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung thanked general practitioners for looking after patients under the home recovery programme, and said MOH is looking at how they can "play an even bigger role" in the case of a big Omicron wave.

Currently, those who feel they are well but have a positive Covid-19 antigen rapid test (ART) result are required to stay at home under the programme.

They can leave when their ART result is negative.

However, given the higher transmissibility of the Omicron variant, there will be a need to push the idea of "right-siting" even further.

Right-siting refers to treating patients in the most appropriate location by medically competent teams at the lowest possible cost.

"Today, GPs prescribe a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test only to someone who feels unwell. Once positive, the patient will likely be put under the home recovery programme," noted Mr Ong.

However, he said GPs can be further empowered such that they can judge the disposition and the risk profile of the patient, and determine whether to do a PCR test or ART for the patient.

For example, for very mild or asymptomatic cases, the GP may want to do just an ART swab.

"A patient who has tested positive in this scenario may be given a few days of medical leave, and can leave home when their ART is negative," said Mr Ong.

This protocol would decentralise a system currently administered by MOH, he added.

Meanwhile, MOH is trying to procure a sufficient supply of Covid-19 therapeutic drugs to reduce the risk of severe infection and protect the overall healthcare capacity.

Associate Professor Mak said: "Our plans are to ensure that we have sufficient numbers of these drugs when we need them for all our patients.

"We are reviewing whether the clinical effectiveness of our existing portfolio of therapeutic drugs is significantly compromised by the Omicron variant."

All the other therapeutics still appear to have good effects in treating those with Omicron, said Prof Mak.

"We will adjust our procurement strategies as needed to ensure our portfolio remains clinically effective and will help to reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality in our patients," he added.

Correction note: This article has been edited for clarity.