About 450 non-life-threatening cases diverted from CGH to other hospitals due to Covid-19 cluster

SINGAPORE — About 450 non-life-threatening ambulance cases were diverted from Changi General Hospital (CGH) to other hospitals from June 25 to Wednesday (July 7) in light of a Covid-19 outbreak in the hospital.

The cases were diverted to Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Raffles Hospital, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) told TODAY on Friday in response to queries.

Patients with life-threatening conditions were still taken by ambulance to CGH when it was the nearest hospital to them, SCDF added.

In a separate statement, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that the diversions during that period allowed CGH to better manage patient load and deal with contingencies arising from Covid-19 cases at the hospital.

MOH added that there may have been longer wait times at hospitals that had received cases diverted from CGH during that period and that the ministry seeks the understanding and patience of the public.

“Members of the public with non-emergency conditions should seek medical attention at the primary care clinics and visit the (emergency department) only for emergency and life-threatening conditions,” it said.

The total number of cases from the CGH cluster has grown to 20, with the first patient in the cluster reported to be a 35-year-old man who works as a porter in the hospital. He tested positive on June 23.

As of Thursday, MOH listed the CGH cluster as one of 22 active clusters here.