Ageing population drives rise in emergency calls to SCDF

SINGAPORE — The number of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) receives continues to rise, largely because of a growing demand for ambulance services due to Singapore’s ageing population.

Last year, there were 155,781 calls, up 3.7 per cent from 2013. More than one-third of these, or 37.2 per cent, were for those aged 65 and above, although this group accounts for only slightly more than one-tenth of Singapore’s population now.

This age-band formed 9 per cent of the population in 2010 and accounted for 32.7 per cent of calls that year.

Despite the steadily increasing number of EMS calls, the SCDF said it has been handling the load well, citing its improvement in meeting response time standards.

Last year, 83.1 per cent of ambulance calls were responded to within 11 minutes, up from the 79.2 per cent in 2013. ROBIN CHOO