Isaac Huang Junming, SGH Rike Oktavianti Toyip, SGH

Ong Leng San, SGH Olivia Hanafi Jakarias, SGH

Developing a safe medical evacuation and repatriation process

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92 84

104

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120

2012 2013 2014 2015

Year

No. of Evacuation Cases Attended by IMS 1. Introduction

Growing global travel trends has led to an increasing demand for evacuation and repatriation services. Singaporeans and residents may also fall ill or get injured where there is no adequate medical treatment available in that country or they might prefer to be evacuated back to Singapore for treatment. They may not know how to proceed with medical transfer assistance when such mishaps arise. In this situation, they often contact SGH to be transferred here for further treatment. Hence, there is a need to develop a seamless evacuation and repatriation process. International Medical Services (IMS) is the department specializing in assisting with both medical evacuation and repatriation.

2. Aims To refine the evacuation & repatriation process by: • Provide clear information and a formalized guideline for front-line staff to assist patients. • Prevent delay of transfer and ensuring that timely care is provided. • Enhance logistical knowledge of medical staff in facilitating the transfer. • Improve communication between family and the hospital to ensure that care provided is timely and safe.

5. Conclusion The forms and guidelines have streamlined IMS’ work processes in the coordination of patient transfer. The forms helped IMS staff in the accurate extraction of essential information which translated to enhanced patient safety during the transfer process. The next goal would be to harness technology such as visual aids and intranet accessibility, to further create awareness to all staff in SingHealth in the medical evacuation and repatriation process.

3. Methodology Cause-and-Effect (Ishikawa) diagram was used to identify issues arising from the transfer process. Brainstorming with medical teams, such as ICU and A&E team, and external partners, such as evacuation companies, to better understand their perspectives and the challenges faced, were conducted and a workflow was formalized.

4.Result After brainstorming, checklist forms were created and guidelines were made for staff coordinating patient transfer. The forms resulted in a standardized workflow thus enabling better coordination of patient transfer. Patient safety was enhanced during the transfer process. More timely medical treatment was rendered.

Figure 1 : Ishikawa diagram Figure 2 : Forms with checklist