Four in 10 hospital ‘long-stayers’ fit to return home

SINGAPORE — Four in 10 “long-stayers” at restructured hospitals are those ready to be discharged, but who remain warded due to the wait for a place at a nursing home or community hospital, or for caregiver arrangements to fall into place.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on Monday provided statistics on hospital “long-stayers” and outlined efforts to address the bottleneck.

As of July 19, there were 645 patients in restructured hospitals — occupying about 10 per cent of beds in service — who had stayed for over 21 days, he said.

Fifty-six per cent, or 364 patients, were those who still needed acute medical care, but the remainder were awaiting placement at step-down facilities or for caregiver arrangements.

Mr Gan was responding to a Parliamentary question from Marine Parade GRC Member of Parliament Fatimah Lateef, who asked for the number of “chronic long-stayers” in restructured hospitals, their average duration of stay and progress made in getting them placed in intermediate and long-term care facilities.

Agencies have collaborated closely in recent years to transfer acute hospital patients who are unable to be cared for at home to step-down facilities, said Mr Gan. As a result, the number of hospital patients successfully matched to a nursing home nearly doubled between 2010 and last year, from 1,185 to 2,100.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is steadily increasing capacity at nursing homes and community hospitals — 700 more nursing home beds will be added by the end of this year and, by 2020, 1,900 more beds will be available at community hospitals, adding to the 800 available today.

The MOH and hospitals are also ramping up support for discharged patients to recuperate at home.

Mr Gan said the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society is providing a pilot interim caregiver service to patients of Changi General Hospital (CGH) and Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

Introduced from March this year, it provides two weeks of assistance to patients fit to return home but whose long-term care arrangements are still being worked out; for instance, they may be waiting for a foreign domestic worker to arrive.

CGH, TTSH and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital have also rolled out a transitional care service where doctors and nurses do home visits for just-discharged patients who may need medical follow-ups.

A CGH spokesperson told TODAY that its Eastern Health Alliance transitional care service began in April 2010 for geriatric patients, but was extended to all its patients last February.

The team helps patients and caregivers for up to three months after discharge, and also links them with home medical services or day rehabilitation services if necessary.

The 450 patients managed so far include those with potentially unstable medical problems like heart failure and recurrent lung disease, and those with a history of multiple admissions, the spokesperson said.