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Experience from a Multi-Disciplinary Team Against COVID-19: A Healthcare Perspective
Alvin Cong Wei Ong1, Clarice Li-Phing Wee2, Wei Lin Lee2
1Department of Post-Acute and Continuing Care, Jurong Community Hospital, National University Health System, Singapore 609606, Singapore.
Insights
A community healthcare facility effectively managed convalescent Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, demonstrating good outcomes with no mortality. This model offers valuable insights for future pandemic preparedness and healthcare system resilience.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Infectious Disease Management
- Healthcare System Preparedness
Background:
- The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic severely strained global healthcare systems.
- Managing surges in COVID-19 cases required innovative solutions to avoid overwhelming hospital capacity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the establishment and operation of a community healthcare facility for COVID-19 convalescent patients.
- To share experiences and lessons learned for future pandemic preparedness.
Main Methods:
- Conceptualization, preparation, and operationalization of a rapid-response community healthcare facility.
- Monitoring clinical encounters and patient outcomes during the initial phase of the pandemic.
Main Results:
- The facility managed 2129 clinical encounters in the first month.
- The majority of patients were young adults (17-35 years) admitted between days 2-6 of illness.
- Excellent patient outcomes were observed, with 2.3% requiring hospital transfer and zero mortality.
Conclusions:
- Community healthcare facilities can effectively manage convalescent COVID-19 patients.
- Sharing experiences from this initiative can guide future pandemic response planning.
- The model highlights the importance of adaptable healthcare infrastructure during health crises.
Abstract:
Globally, the capacity of healthcare systems across continents has been strained and put to the test with the emergence of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The timely need to ensure the availability of healthcare facilities to isolate and manage the surge in COVID-19 cases without overwhelming existing hospital capacity has posed challenges in many countries. In this paper, we discuss the conceptualisation, preparations and operationalisation of a community healthcare facility that was set up within a short time frame to attend to the convalescent needs of a large number of COVID-19 patients in the early phase of handling the pandemic. In the first month of operations, we monitored a total of 2129 clinical encounters, with the majority of patients between 17-35 years of age and between day 2 to day 6 of illness upon admission. Overall, there was a good outcome for the patients, with only 2.3% requiring transfer back to restructured hospitals. There was also no mortality. We hope that the sharing of our experiences of the challenges and learning lessons gleaned may be useful to guide individuals in planning for the future preparedness of healthcare systems in managing pandemics.
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