Evacuation and Treatment of Casualties at SAF Training Sites

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef asked the Minister for Defence (a) whether there are procedures currently in practice for sending casualties from SAF training sites to a SAF medical centre first before they can be referred to a restructured hospital; (b) if so, what are these procedures; and (c) on average, how far are the SAF medical centres usually located from SAF training sites.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, casualties during the SAF training are evacuated based on procedures reviewed and endorsed by the SAF Emergency Medicine Specialist Advisory Board. This Board comprises senior emergency medicine and trauma surgery specialists from the Government restructured hospitals.

The first priority is to evacuate an injured serviceman to the nearest medical facility that has the appropriate level of care, as time is of the essence in an emergency situation. The nearest medical facility can either be the Emergency Resuscitation Facility (ERF), which is within an SAF medical centre or a restructured hospital's emergency department. There is no requirement that the injured serviceman must be sent to an SAF medical centre in all instances. All the Emergency Resuscitation Facilities in the SAF are equipped to deal with a wide range of medical emergencies. SAF Medical Officers stationed at the ERFs are trained and accredited in advanced clinical resuscitation protocols, including Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Advanced Trauma Life Support and Emergency Airway Management.

In the event that the injured serviceman is sent to an Emergency Resuscitation Facility (ERF), the SAF Medical Officer will assess, stabilise and start advanced treatment or resuscitation of the casualty. Resuscitation procedures will continue enroute to the restructured hospital's emergency department, if further treatment in the hospital is required. Evacuation to the hospital would be via land ambulance or helicopter if it is the faster mode after taking into consideration accessibility to a pick-up point and activation and flight time.

The SAF training areas are concentrated mainly in the western and northern parts of Singapore. These training areas are supported by a network of SAF medical centres. The average distance from a training area to the nearest SAF medical centre is about three to four kilometres.

Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef (Marine Parade): Can I find out about the activation of the mobile Medical Evacuation Team (MET) which has been publicised recently? How long does it take for them to be activated? Also for heli-lift or air-lift to be done from, say, a site on Pulau Tekong, how long is the estimated time for activation?

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, I do not have the answer because it is a specific question but I would be happy to answer the Member if she files a specific question. In overall terms, the Member is quite right. Our emergency medical evacuation follows guidelines put up by the American Heart Association – the so-called chain of survival process, which comprises five key components: early access, buddy aid, basic life support and early defibrillation, advanced resuscitation and then, evacuation for continuing care. I would say that almost all the exercises will have Medics on standby so that their immediate response to an incident is there, upon which if evacuation is activated, then it would be an ambulance from the nearest medical centre. And as I said, medical centres' average distance is about three to four kilometres, so it should not take long. I will also add that in every incident for an inquiry or when we review it, these times are stated. Usually, they are within quick parameters, but the specific numbers, the Member will have to file the question.

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