WE WOULD like to apologise to Ms Chng Hwee Miang and her mother
for their experience ('Has SGH become too confusing for
outpatients?'; last Saturday).
Our staff had suggested to Ms Chng to do her mother's CT scan
that afternoon to save them from making another trip to the
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for the procedure, before their
next appointment. Nonetheless, our front-line staff could have been
more helpful by making the necessary inquiries internally to seek
clarification.
Our current systems and processes are designed to allow us to
cope with the heavy load of 3,000 outpatients every day. This may
translate into stressful, long waiting times and administrative
procedures. Mindful of the need to improve patient experience,
Camden Imaging Centre was set up to offload some cases from the
hospital's Diagnostic Radiology Department. This allows patients
who are ambulant the option of having their scans done at the
centre on the same day.
We will continue to work on simplifying our procedures and
processes, and coaching our staff to better anticipate and respond
to the needs of our patients, especially the elderly ones.
Associate Professor Agnes Tan
Chairman, Division of Ambulatory
and Clinical Support Services
Singapore General Hospital