Changi General Hospital thinks out of box to solve overcrowding ( but I said it first)

Dear Friends


Changi General takes a small step ( but significant one) to try to solve severe overcrowding at the Accident & Emergency Dept ( A&E). ( click here)


It incentivises patient to try to seek treatment at their neighbourhood General Practitioners (GP) first.


If after that the GP still deems them serious enough to seek re-attendance at the A&E, they are accorded a $50 discount.


This is good as:
1. Non-emergency cases will be seen ( more quickly) by their GP's at a lower total cause. ie $30-50 GP fees compared to $100 A & E fees.
Even if re-attended at A & E : total fees will be $80-100 .


2. Non-emergency cases will not clog up the A&E- leaving the remaining ( ie less) emergency cases to be seen by the already over-burdened doctors/nurses.


Most stakeholders will be happier:
1. Non-emergency patient : happy! 2. Emergency patient: happy! 3. GP lagi happy! 4. A&E docs/nurses lagi lagi happy!


Slightly unhappy: if emergency case goes to EXPENSIVE GP who charges $150... then gets referred back to A&E to only get $50 discount... TOTAL BILL: $200 but he will be fast-tracked and does not have to wait with the rest of the crowd... so Not so unhappy!


BTW: CGH copied my idea! Really!


I wrote on this exact topic ( click here)  and this was published in the newspaper's forum pages and I thought it was forgotten... BUT.. no... nothing is ever wasted. I always thought it was feasible!


In life- there are always negative people who will pour cold water on anything new others want to introduce... why rock the boat ( they say)... society is not ready ( they say)... this is Singapore and we do things differently from the rest of the whole wide world ( they say)...


But I say- Huat Ah! Just say and do what you think is right! What is good for your fellow men... and women...


Gong Xi Fa Cai! Huat Ah!


Dr Huang Shoou Chyuan