Latest news with #KhooTeckPuatHospital
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Yahoo
1 dead, 1 injured after dispute between neighbours at Yishun HDB block
SINGAPORE - A man died and another man was conscious when taken to the hospital on July 19, with preliminary investigations pointing to a dispute between two neighbours at a Yishun HDB block. The police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said they were contacted about an incident at Block 334B Yishun Street 31 at about 5.20pm. 'When officers arrived, they found an injured 53-year-old man in his residential unit and a 44-year-old man lying motionless at the foot of the block,' police said. 'Preliminary investigations revealed that the men, who are neighbours residing at the said block, were involved in a prior dispute along the corridor. Arising from the dispute, the 44-year-old man allegedly injured the 53-year-old man with a knife.' The 44-year-old man was subsequently found lying motionless at the foot of the block and was pronounced dead at the scene by an SCDF paramedic. The police said they do not suspect foul play, based on preliminary investigations. In photos of the incident, a blue police tent is seen erected on a grass patch on the first floor of the block, with the surrounding area cordoned off with police tape. Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported a female resident on the fourth floor saying that she heard a loud noise, and then saw an elderly man with abdominal injuries when she peered out of her flat. The 53-year-old man was conscious when taken to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Police investigations are ongoing. Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction Discover how to enjoy other premium articles here
Straits Times
17-07-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Care model to improve trauma outcome in central S'pore fashioned after ‘bicycle wheel'
During trauma surgery, making life and death decisions are crucial as things often happen badly in trauma care and time is always running out. SINGAPORE - A trauma care model fashioned after the wheel of a bicycle has been launched in the central region of Singapore to improve the outcomes of those who have sustained physical, life-threatening injuries. The hub-and-spoke concept increases the chances of these critically injured patients receiving optimal care at the most appropriate hospital, ultimately leading to faster response times and reduced death rates. Tan Tock Seng Hospital's (TTSH) Trauma Centre serves as the hub, specialising in the most complex and critical trauma cases, while the other hospitals in central Singapore are the spokes, managing moderate to less severe ones. The 'spoke hospitals' comprise Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), Woodlands Health (WH), Sengkang General Hospital (SKH), Raffles Hospital and KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), which are from different healthcare clusters. The model also helps to 'maximise resources... since four of the eight specialist trauma surgeons in Singapore are located at TTSH', Dr Teo Li Tserng, director of the TTSH Trauma Centre, told reporters at an interview on July 16 . The rest of the specialist trauma surgeons are based at three other hospitals. Dr Teo said patients requiring care based on a set of tailored secondary transfer criteria are sent to the hub. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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The care model was shared at the Singapore Trauma and Acute Care Conference (STACC) 2025, held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre from July 17 to 18. Trauma is a form of injury caused by an external force . Many such patients suffer multiple injuries or damage in multiple regions, whether from traffic accidents, bad falls or penetrating wounds. It ranks among the top 10 causes of death in Singapore, with falls and road accidents being leading causes of moderate to severe trauma injuries. According to the National Trauma Registry (NTR), there were about eight trauma cases per 100,000 population treated at the public healthcare institutions daily between 2021 and 2023, with almost seven in 10 of the moderate to severe cases involving the elderly aged 65 and above. About one in five patients with severe trauma did not survive and one in 50 with moderate trauma died . Although the hub-and-spoke trauma care model is not a new idea , the one here has a 'bi-directional patient flow', setting it apart from existing ones elsewhere. 'Unlike most uni-directional systems where the hub takes every trauma case first, our model allows for a critically injured victim of, say, of a bad road accident, to be brought the nearest (periphery) hospital to be stabilised before transferring him to TTSH for the complex, life-threatening emergency treatment,' said Dr Teo, who is also the regional director of the Central Region Trauma Services from NHG Health. 'Once emergency treatment is complete and the patient is stabilised, he can be transferred back to the 'spoke' hospital for follow-up rehabilitation, or even to a hospital closer to their residence for ongoing care,' he added. If the patient is not stable enough for transfer , surgeons from the hub can go to the periphery hospitals instead. The bi-directional operation significantly reduces the burden on the main trauma centre at TTSH, making more efficient use of resources and 'reflecting a right-sited, patient-centred approach,' Dr Teo said. Using the analogy of a jar of kaya and several pieces of sliced bread, Dr Teo said: 'The kaya in this case is finite, so how do we adequately spread it around to the increasing slices of bread or even concentrate the kaya to make sure that at least everybody gets enough for taste? That's the challenge. We have to ensure that the patients get adequate care to allow them the chance for survival.' In order for the hub-and-spoke model to work, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) plays a crucial role as its first responders decide where to transport patients based on the type and severity of their injuries, Dr Teo said. 'Even with Singapore's small size and short transport times, that extra five minutes taking the critically injured patient to the hub is crucial for him to fare better,' he said. The hub-and-spoke model is still being developed, as some hospitals in the central region are 'at various stages of their maturity', said Dr Teo, who pointed out that Sengkang Hospital and Woodlands Health are the two newest hospitals. In comparison, the TTSH trauma centre has been working with Sengkang Hospital since 2016. 'We are trying to fully roll this (model) out by September this year, and hopefully it will then be the prototype for the rest of the healthcare groups to adopt,' Dr Teo, said.
CNA
13-07-2025
- Health
- CNA
Oxford study linking vaccines to lower dementia risk needs more evidence, say Singapore doctors
SINGAPORE: A recent Oxford study suggesting that certain vaccines may help reduce the risk of dementia has drawn interest from medical professionals in Singapore, but they said the findings are still too preliminary to influence clinical practice. Released in June, the study analysed health data from nearly 437,000 individuals in the United States. It found that those who received either the shingles vaccine or the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine – both of which contain the AS01 adjuvant – had a lower risk of developing dementia within 18 months. Specifically, the RSV vaccine, Arexvy, was associated with a 29 per cent reduction in risk, while the shingles vaccine, Shingrix, was linked to an 18 per cent reduction. Researchers believe the AS01 adjuvant, a substance used to enhance immune response, may be the key factor behind this potential benefit. 'It gives us a possible explanation that the secret recipe may lie in the adjuvant,' said Dr Philip Yap, a senior consultant in geriatric medicine at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. 'The adjuvant is actually given in these recombinant vaccines to boost its efficacy,' he said. 'When you give an adjuvant, the vaccine is supposed to elicit a stronger immune response, like a booster.' EVIDENCE STILL 'TOO WEAK' Despite these encouraging findings, Dr Yap and other dementia specialists in Singapore stressed that the results should be interpreted cautiously. Dr Chong Yao Feng, a consultant in the neurology division at the National University Hospital, said that while the study was 'well done', it was epidemiological in nature – based on observational data rather than randomised controlled trials. 'The nature of epidemiological studies is that they demonstrate associations but not causations, unlike randomised controlled trials.' He expressed concerns about how the study would be interpreted and whether it could influence actions by individual patients or by health authorities. "We cannot repurpose shingles or RSV vaccines for dementia prevention on the basis of this study alone," Dr Chong said. "Neither should individual patients sign up for these vaccinations with the belief that their risk of dementia is reduced. The current evidence is too weak for such actions to be taken." Others said that longer-term studies are necessary before drawing firm conclusions, particularly since the effects of introducing these vaccines into the immune system need to be carefully examined. Dr Zhao Yi Jing, a neurologist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, said the 18-month window observed in the study is too short to assess long-term effects on a condition like dementia, which often takes decades to develop. The pathological process of dementia can begin 10 to 20 years before clinical symptoms appear. The study does not provide enough evidence to show that the vaccines can prevent dementia or slow its progression in patients, she said. Still, Dr Zhao acknowledged that the idea is not without precedent. Other vaccines have been used to treat other diseases, such as the hepatitis vaccine being used to prevent liver cancer. 'It's still too early to tell, but it's not like it hasn't happened before. But when you do that, there are a lot of ethical regulatory considerations,' she added. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital's Dr Yap, who also chairs social service agency Dementia Singapore, echoed her sentiments. "It is really too premature, it's still too early. There are positive signals that warrant further investigation. So these positive signals shouldn't be ignored, but neither should we take them to be confirmatory," he said. 'We need more studies to understand whether future studies can replicate the same findings. So the more studies we have, that means the evidence becomes stronger and more robust.' Dr Yap warned that while an enhanced immune response might help clear amyloid plaques – proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease – it could also provoke chronic inflammation. 'You want to remove the bad amyloid, the toxic substances. But at the same time, you do not want damage to the good cells,' he said. PREVENTING DEMENTIA Beyond vaccines, doctors highlighted well-established methods for lowering dementia risk. These include regular exercise, mental stimulation and a balanced diet. Preserving hearing and vision is also increasingly recognised as important. 'It has been shown that hearing loss increases the risk of dementia by up to two times,' said Dr Yap, advising people to consider hearing aids and 'not neglect things' that can be easily addressed. He also advised those with poor vision due to cataracts to get it treated – "quite a simple, low-risk surgery" – instead of living with the problem. Sleep and alcohol consumption are also risk factors. Poor sleep can disrupt the brain's glymphatic system, which is crucial for clearing toxic substances like amyloid plaques, said Dr Yap. Mount Elizabeth's Dr Zhao added that high alcohol consumption can trigger a general inflammatory response in the body and direct neurotoxicity. 'I have seen patients where through chronic alcoholism, their brain has gone through significant shrinkage compared to other people of their age who don't drink a lot of alcohol,' she said.
Independent Singapore
07-06-2025
- Independent Singapore
Violent dispute between stepfather and stepson erupts in Yishun rental flat; both arrested
SINGAPORE: An argument between a stepfather and his stepson escalated into a physical altercation at a rental flat in Yishun on Saturday morning, resulting in both men being arrested. The incident occurred around 10am at Block 510A Yishun Street 51. Eyewitnesses told Shin Min Daily News that police officers were seen arriving at the scene shortly after the commotion broke out. Residents familiar with the family said arguments were not uncommon in the unit, which is reportedly shared by a couple and a man in his 30s, believed to be the woman's son. 'They often argue,' one neighbour shared, 'That day, it turned into a fight. The younger man had a head injury, and the fight even spilled into the corridor.' Photos taken after the altercation showed the aftermath outside the flat — a broken shoe rack lay overturned, with footwear scattered across the corridor floor. When reporters visited the flat later, the unit appeared unoccupied. In response to media queries, the police and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that a 35-year-old man had been taken conscious to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. A 57-year-old man sustained minor injuries but declined medical assistance. Both men were arrested for affray. Police investigations are ongoing.
Malay Mail
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- Malay Mail
Singapore man, 64, arrested for dangerous driving after fatal crash kills 21-year-old motorcyclist in Mandai
SINGAPORE, June 2 — A 64-year-old man has been arrested for dangerous driving causing death following a fatal collision with a motorcyclist in Mandai. The incident occurred around 7pm on May 29 along Mandai Road heading towards Mandai Avenue, police said. The 21-year-old male motorcyclist was found unconscious at the scene and later died in hospital, according to a report in The Straits Times today. A 34-year-old man who was a passenger in the suspect's car was taken conscious to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Police investigations into the crash are ongoing. According to traffic police statistics, the number of motorcyclists and pillion riders killed in road accidents has risen in 2024. There were 85 such fatalities last year, up from 68 in 2023. Although motorcycles make up only 14.7 per cent of all vehicles in Singapore, riders and their passengers account for more than half of all traffic accident deaths and injuries.
