The first of its kind within a hospital compound, a new dialysis centre located in the north of Singapore with haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis treatments.
In Singapore, there is an increase in the number of kidney failure and dialysis patients everyday.
Those patients in their 60s and above as well as the high-dependency patients who are already going to hospitals for other medical needs will find it more accessible and convenient if there is a dialysis centre located in community hospitals to cut down their travelling time to and fro.
The National Kidney Foundation (NKF) had previously mentioned in April last year to build more dialysis centres within polyclinics, community hospitals, and community centres. The foundation had submitted the proposal to set up a dialysis centre in a community hospital located in the north of Singapore since 5th April 2019.
“We are in dire need of more dialysis centres, particularly in the east and the north-east. Currently, the occupancy of dialysis centres in these areas is about 90 per cent.”
- Mr Tim Oei, NKF Chief Executive said in The Straits Times published on 5th April 2019
The good news following up last year's submitted proposal - On 23rd November 2020, NKF has just opened a new dialysis centre within Yishun Community Hospital (north of Singapore).
Photo Courtesy of Shimizu Corporation
With Keppel Corporation donating $2 million to the NKF, this newly-opened dialysis centre is the first to be built within a hospital compound to provide easy access for patients who need different medical treatments. It is located within Yishun Community Hospital (YCH) adjacent to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH).
YCH is a community hospital that handles patients' recovery after their short-term medical treatments. Meanwhile, KTPH is an acute hospital where patients get short-term medical treatments like operations for severe injuries or illnesses. Therefore, dialysis patients at YCH who require acute treatment can be easily transferred to KTPH and vice versa.
The new dialysis centre has 22 stations that can serve up to 132 haemodialysis patients. It can also cater to different groups of kidney failure patients as it does not only offer haemodialysis, but also peritoneal dialysis.
Haemodialysis is done by inserting two needles in which one is to remove the blood, and the other is to return the purified blood to the body. Peritoneal dialysis is where a special sterile fluid is introduced into the abdomen through a permanent tube to draw impurities from the surrounding blood vessels and then drained from the body.
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References
NKF (website)
The Straits Times (website)