SINGAPORE GENERAL HOSPITAL (Profiles of

Dr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for Health whether he will provide the profiles of patients admitted into "C" Class wards in the Singapore General Hospital and an assessment of this service so far.

The Minister for Health (Mr Yeo Cheow Tong): Mr Speaker, Sir, Class C wards in the Singapore General Hospital have been fully operational since December last year with a total of 157 beds.

From January to May 1991, there were a monthly average of 622 admissions into the Class C wards and this came to about 9% of the total SGH monthly admissions.

A survey covering 450 patients was conducted in February to ascertain the socio-economic background of the Class C patients. The survey showed that:

59% of the patients were aged 55 or above;

60% live in 3-room or smaller HDB flats (the remaining 40% were living in 4-room or better flats);

the patients were hospitalised for an average of 7 days; and

the bill size averaged $277 or about $40 per day.

The Class C wards enjoyed an average occupancy rate of 80%, which is similar to the overall hospital occupancy rate of 77%.

A separate survey in February also revealed that about 23% of the patients in Class C wards were actually awaiting transfer to Class B2 or better wards.

Sir, the feedback from patients so far has been satisfactory. All patients in Class C wards of SGH as well as the other Government and restructured hospitals are under the charge of specialists. Their management is supervised by the specialists and other medical staff of the ward and thestandard of medical care is comparable to that of patients in other wards.