Patient Safety rounds at Alexandra Hospital by JGH Management

Head A&E, Head Anesthesia/ Patient Safety Officer, Director Medical Affairs, Chairman Medical Board and Director Nursing chatting with staff at the Eye Clinic at Alexandra Hospital during Management Patient Safety Walkabout

Transition management between the Jurong General Hospital (JGH) and the KTPH team at Alexandra Hospital (AH) has started since 28 March 2010.  

The JGH team now runs the Eye Clinic, the Dental Clinics, the Day Surgery Ward, the Dietetics services and other clinical and operations support services such as CSSD, Materials management and security at AH.  In the meantime, our doctors and nurses have started to work alongside our colleagues in AH in other wards, clinics and operating theatres.  The transition has been smooth and staff are generally in high spirit.

There are 2 key priorities for the JGH team taking over operations at AH - maintain the high level of service that patients have come to expect at AH, and ensure that patients are safe in our care.

To ensure that staff can do their work well, we've started a Management Patient Safety Walkabout, the first of which was conducted on 14 April 2010.  The leadership team visited the areas that JGH have assumed management to chat with staff and find out if they have all the necessary resources and support to do their job well and ensure that care to patients is safe.  It was very heartening to see and hear that staff are putting in their best and are very open with their feedback and suggestions for improvement.  My promise to our staff, we will listen to your suggestions and we will act on them.

Since then, our Patient Safety Officer Dr Ng Huey Ping has been working hard to ensure that good suggestions are quickly implemented and study suggestions that will require more effort to work through.

These official patient safety walkabout will continue monthly.  But, if you observe carefully, it is not hard to catch members of the JGH management and clinical leadership making their rounds daily to spot our staff doing the right thing, and be a resource to our ground staff to do a better job.

We have a great bunch from JGH at AH who will put our best foot forward for our patients!  Thank you folks!

The "lost" waiting to be found?

It is the school holidays.  The kids are out.  They are hanging out, perhaps taking a well deserved break from the routine of school.

My kids are also spending some time away from school routines of homework, assessment books, tuition.  There are with my wife at Aranda Country Club, leaving behind this father who is too busy with work to join them.  However, I did join my family for dinner last night.  We took a short walk from Aranda to the nearby Downtown east to do so.

I was appalled by the behavior of our youths there. While queuing up at the ATM, I noticed that the line was not moving.  I realised that 3 youths were taking their time with their transactions.  No money came out of the machine for more than 15 minutes and they were giggling away occasionally looking back almost as if to see how frustrated others were as they whiled away time.  One of the boys was heavily tattooed from his neck down to his ankle.  The other two carried MOE student cards in their wallets.  Obviously, there were in bad company and I wondered how would their lives turned out in future?  I did not have high hope.  They finally moved away from the ATM after about 20 minutes smiling and perhaps happy that they messed up the lives of others even for a while.  I stayed in line all this while mainly because I was curious if they would be up to any good.  But "good" was not a quality that even came close from these boys.

Soon, my family were at the foodcourt. There were many youths there.  I spotted many girls with boys/ boyfriends with hairstyle that would hardly be allowed in schools - or could they be hair extenders that I have come to be aware of?  Though young, the public affection that they showed to each other with hands in all the "wrong" places could put many B grade actors to shame.  

After dinner, we passed by many youths smoking.  Others were using vulgarities loudly. A few others have their noses, lips pierced and one carried a ear loop the size of a 50cents coin!  It became quite obvious to me that there were no parents in the midst of this youthful crowd. Are these expressions of pent up behavior from strict parenting or is the result of lack of parental guidance and supervision?  Or am I too old fashion and I should just "loosen up" because this is the new generation?

I worry about our youths.  In particular, I worry about my kids.  I pray that they will not be led astray.  I used the experience to tell them that those behavior that we saw was not right and that they should not feel that they have to conform to bad behavior.  Most of all, they should know that they are loved deeply, and they should measure their action against the love that they can come to expect.

Views anyone?

It has been a long time since I appreciate a poem...

Who do you think wrote this poem?

As I came to explore

I began to know more

How our forefathers laboured as they can

With their very own bare hands

So I stepped back to the past

The environment was loud

With chitter-chatter

And the smoke reaches the air

As the coolies shed their sweat

Their load got even worse

Just a pat on the back

Will overcome their fear

As the four sins continue

The secret societies find a venue

To create trouble

Maybe to make it double

Opium smoking becomes a habit

For those not weary

Health may deteriate

But never the will to create

Death houses banned in 1960’s

Then became hospices

The dying slept in coffins

To give space to the sick

The Samsui’s and Ah Ma’s

Work as they must

To take care of construction

And of course the master’s reunion

As the Samsui’s wake up at dawn

They let out a tired yawn

Rice, fish and veggie

Is all their breakfast will be

Due to extreme poverty

They celebrate once a year

With a special steamed chicken dish

They can smile ear to ear

But now times have changed

Technology is improved

Skyscrapers are everywhere

With Singapore in good care

New Kois for the New Year!!

It has been a tough but challenging week at work.  I ended the week with flu but with rest and sleep that my family has so lovingly given me, I am well on my way to recovery!

After tea break today, I brought my family to the Summer Koi farm at Jalan Kayu.  My children wanted to get some outdoors and were naturally excited when I told them that we will see some big and lovely kois at the farm.

I ended up buying 2 beautiful kois, one a hiutsuri and the other a red/ black Kumonryu from Japan.  These fishes costs me the equivalent of many packets of chicken rice but looking at their beauty and grace bring great calmness to my soul.  If that is the case, it is worth every cents (more like dollars).

My daughters named the Kumonryu "Disco" and my 3-year old son named the Hiutsuri "Tango".

Enjoy the photos that I took at the Summer Koi!

Releasing the Kois into my pond

My father watching from the living room

Children can't wait to release the kois!

Packing the Kois

Kois trying to swim away

Almost bought these golden kois but their body shape was in question

Netting in the kois for viewing

My hiutsuro

Mega Koi (Chagoi) about 1m in size!!

My daughter Brittney, shocked by the size of the fish!!