INTENSIVE CARE UNIT PATIENTS

Mrs Lim Hwee Hua asked the Minister for Education, besides the proposed adjustment to compensation packages to retain and attract competent teaching staff, whether there are other plans in place to ensure a good fit and proper integration of University-trained manpower into the different industries, such as engineering, finance and law.

RAdm Teo Chee Hean: At the national level, the Government identifies the broad areas of manpower needs in the economy. The National Manpower Council, chaired by the Minister for Manpower, is the forum where such manpower decisions are taken. The universities' intake targets are derived from these decisions.

At the university level, our universities proactively ensure that graduates receive sufficient preparation to fit into specific sectors they are trained for. This is done in several ways.

First, our universities receive feedback and inputs from representatives from the industries in a systematic manner. At NUS, Departmental Consultative Committees are set up for this purpose. At NTU, they are called the School Advisory Committees. These committees comprise leaders in those fields of society and industry most relevant to each of the departments or schools. The committees play an important role in providing feedback on the quality of graduates and industry trends. The committees also assist in the periodic review of the curriculum so that it will remain relevant to the needs of the industry. Where appropriate, proposals for new curriculum or for curriculum review are circulated to key personnel in the targeted industry for their inputs.

Second, the teaching staff are in touch with the industry. A significant number of academic staff at our universities have prior work experience in the industry or are currently engaged in industrial consulting work. In addition, our universities appoint a number of professionals from industry to be adjunct professors/lecturers. These staff will have a good sense of what the needs of the industry are. They can also show students the relevance of what they learn to real-life problems. They, too, are a valuable source of industrial input to curricular development.

Third, a large proportion of our students undergo work attachments during the course of their undergraduate degree. For instance, all engineering students are required to do a 6-month industrial attachment in their third year. Law and Business students also have the opportunity to be involved in various forms of attachments during their vacations. Such attachments expose students to working life and help them see how their training in university relates to industry.

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for Health (a) how many intensive care unit (ICU) patients in the National University National Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Alexandra Hospital had died of pneumonia from 1995 to 1999 respectively; and (b) whether his Ministry is satisfied with the standard of ICU care in the hospitals.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: The annual rate of pneumonia deaths in the ICUs of NUH, SGH, TTSH and AH from 1995 to 1998 is low and ranges from 0.7% to 5.3% of all ICU admissions. Excluding the data for 1999 which is not yet available, the total number of deaths from pneumonia in the ICUs of the four hospitals annually from 1995 to 1998 is 63, 104, 88 and 125 respectively.

The incidence of deaths from pneumonia per se is not appropriate as a meaningful indicator of infection control in the ICU. Patients in the ICU are severely ill and more susceptible to complications such as lung infections. A significant number of patients are also admitted into the ICU for the management of severe infections.

A more appropriate and internationally accepted indicator of infection control in the ICU which is monitored by our acute hospitals is the "ventilator-associated pneumonia rate". This rate measures the incidence of pneumonia associated with the use of ventilators. The ventilator-associated pneumonia rates in our major acute public sector hospitals range from 7.6 to 33.2 per 1,000 ventilator-days, which is comparable to the rates of US hospitals which range from 12.7 to 26.1 per 1,000 ventilator-days.

The evaluation of quality of care in the ICU is a complex process. In addition to monitoring infection control, hospitals regularly set and review ICU care protocols and guidelines. They are required to investigate into any serious deficiency detected, identify areas for improvement and report their recommendations to my Ministry. Since the licensing of hospitals in 1993, there has been no serious deficiency related to outcome of care in the ICU that required investigation by my Ministry.

Singaporeans can rest assured that the standard of ICU care in public sector acute hospitals in Singapore is comparable to reputable medical centres overseas.