Over 2,000 non-life-threatening calls to medical triage helpline directed away from emergency departments
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) responded to 245,279 EMS calls in 2024 – an average of 672 calls a day. This was a 57 per cent increase from 2014.
"With Singapore's ageing population and rising healthcare needs, EMS calls are expected to continue increasing," said MOH and MHA last week.
The NurseFirst pilot will operate from 8am to 11pm daily. Outside of these hours, SCDF will deal with non-life-threatening 995 calls according to its current protocols.
The public can also call the NurseFirst helpline directly at 6262 6262 for non-life-threatening medical conditions to receive timely medical advice at no cost.
IS IT LIFE THREATENING?
The Advanced Medical Protocol System is used by SCDF to triage emergency medical calls based on their severity, SCDF said.
To determine the appropriate level of response, SCDF will ask questions about the patient's condition, for example, their level of consciousness and breathing status.
'It helps call-takers to assess the seriousness of a medical emergency and prioritise ambulance response to life-threatening cases,' SCDF said, adding that all 995 calls are assessed by call-takers using this system.
When a 995 call is assessed to be non-life-threatening, SCDF's Operations Centre will transfer the caller to the NurseFirst helpline for further assistance.
Non-life-threatening conditions include animal bites without allergic symptoms and without active bleeding, minor burns affecting less than 15 per cent of the body surface area, and resolved choking episodes without active symptoms, among others.
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