In a move to enhance preventive health care for Singapore's ageing population, Alexandra Hospital (AH) has set up Singapore's first Community Health Post at the Queenstown Multi-Service Centre, which operates on a Saturday (CHP) to cater to the working older adults. This latest CHP will be the 14th CHP in Queenstown and brings the total number of CHPs in the Western region of Singapore to 64. This move to set up one which operates on Saturdays, comes in response to the increasing number of older adults who are extending their working years and seeking to remain active, engaged, and healthy. The CHP will provide essential health services and education on selected Saturdays, catering to the needs of these working older adults. “This CHP should also strengthen itself to serve as a primary care path and the point of care for patients discharged from Alexandra Hospital, helping them gain confidence and empowering them to manage their chronic conditions at home. This support is crucial in reducing hospital readmissions and improving the quality of life for older adults,” said Dr Jason Phua, CEO of AH.
A Hub for Preventive Health Care
The are about 120,000 resident population living in the Queenstown precinct of which 35% are working older adults. The CHP at Queenstown is designed to be a touchpoint for residents, offering easy access to health services within their community. It will emphasise integration and coordination between health and social care, on top of providing preventive care plan support, chronic disease management, and health education to increase health literacy among residents. The CHP will also support residents in their basic health monitoring and supporting their lifestyle changes, through discussions and reviewing health trends including BMI, blood pressure and glucose. The CHP also hopes to reach out to the between 40 to 60-year-old residents who may be the older millennial parents of younger children, to cover a broader and diverse social mix in outreach and catch chronic diseases earlier and keep them at bay.
Services available at CHPs include:
Led by AH care coordinators, the CHP at QMSC offers basic health assessments, comprehensive geriatric assessments and health coaching. The CHP also offers advice on preventive health measures (in accordance with the national screening and vaccination schedules) for the general public and individuals with chronic conditions.
While primarily appointment-based, the CHP is open to the public for walk-in. Not only is it a referral touchpoint for community partners and grassroots in Queenstown, facilitating connections between older adults and community resources, it will also serve as a community node to support patients who are discharged from AH, helping them gain confidence and be empowered to manage their own chronic conditions. The CHP also looks after patients with chronic conditions, assists in referrals to the appropriate community services and perform care consolidation. This allows residents to age in place, avoid admission, reduce caregiver stress, and improve quality of life. The CHP connects residents with appropriate community services and social care support, which is part of social prescribing. This integration helps older adults access a broader range of services that contribute to their overall well-being. This engagement helps create a supportive network for older adults, enhancing their ability to age in place.
The event was graced by Mr Eric Chua, MP for Tanjong Pagar GRC (Queenstown) and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for MCCY and MSF. At the morning event attended by 200 residents, he shared his personal experience of appreciating caregiving through his mother’s lens and his relationship with his late grandmother who passed away from dementia in 2018.
About Alexandra Hospital
Alexandra Hospital will be redeveloped into an integrated health campus by 2028 in view of the rising demand in health and medical services set to increase and grow as the population intensifies in the south-western region of Singapore. It responds to growing needs of an ageing Singapore and is pandemic and future-proof for the health and care needs of tomorrow. It is a well-integrated, well-zoned, green and sustainable campus with zero carbon and the most energy efficient, smart hospital and campus with its peaks in medical excellence.
Alexandra Hospital (AH) was taken over by the National University Health System (NUHS) on 1 June 2018. The 326-bedder hospital is the sandboxing site for staging innovative patient-centric solutions with a view to enabling best practices to be scoped, shared and scaled. These practices will span the entire care continuum and enable health in the safety and comfort of the home and community.
AH is also the first integrated general hospital to implement the Integrated General Hospital (IGH) model, which provides a single continuum of care across different settings from acute, sub-acute to rehabilitative care under one roof. Care is anchored by a team with a principal doctor and provided through key programmes, These programmes cover preventive care, one-stop/one-bed inpatient acute care, long-term chronic care, healthy ageing, and palliative care.
The new Alexandra Campus, will have about 1300 beds and new facilities to care for a larger and growing population in Queenstown and beyond. AH will also play a key role in the Health District@Queenstown and Healthier Sg. AH will also strengthen the link with the community, bridge the divide between health and social care and enable easier access to care, with strong focus on general medicine, geriatric medicine, palliative care, rehabilitation medicine, psychiatry and generalist surgery.
Alexandra Hospital and the Rail Corridor will be well-integrated in design and will promote active living and biodiversity. In the approved URA Masterplan, there will be seamless connectivity across AH and its surrounding communities, and AH will be a healthcare campus designed with and for the community. Age-friendly community and green spaces will be strategically linked to the Rail Corridor. This will include cycling or walkthrough paths with heritage trail and memory markers of the hospital’s rich history.
