Singapore Hospitals: Nearly 90% of Isolation Beds and Two-Thirds of ICUs are Full!
What the Numbers Really Mean
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung spilled the beans on Wednesday (Oct 20) that almost all 1,650 isolation rooms in our hospitals are occupied, and two‑thirds of the ICU beds are on the line. That’s a staggering 207 ICU spots dedicated to COVID‑19 patients right now.
Intubated Set vs. Non‑Intubated Watchers
- 71 patients fighting the ventilator training wheels (intubated).
- 75 others aren’t on the tube yet but are under close ICU supervision, just in case.
“We can open new beds … but there’s a cost,” Ong warned. Imagine those extra beds costing us a few extra vaccine doses and a boom, our other treatments will be delayed.
Next Step: Stretching to 300 ICU Beds
The plan is to lift the ICU capacity for COVID-19 to 300 beds. That’s an attempt to squeeze the extra room into the building without turning it into a limbo of postponed surgeries.
Mobilizing the Entire Healthcare Huddle
To keep the momentum going, the Ministry of Health is pulling the full force of public, community, and private hospitals to earmark more beds for COVID-19 patients. At present, we’re grabbing a grand total 4,200 beds across hospitals and COVID treatment centers.
How to Lighten the Load
- Doctors in clinical teams are funneling stable patients to COVID Treatment Facilities (CTFs) for painless monitoring.
- Community hospitals are stepping up, creating more CTF‑style beds to keep ongoing care flowing, especially for older patients with other health issues.
- Admission wait times are creeping up, so hospitals are trimming non‑urgent and non‑life‑threatening procedures to save manpower and capacity.
- Private hospitals have been enlisted with a big “YES” to shoulder some of the COVID-19 load.
Why the Pressure Feels Like a Sauna
With the pressure mounting, hospitals are under the impression that they’re trying to keep a department running on a coffee‑only diet – all of a sudden, daily life becomes a tug‑of‑war between urgent surgeries and the call of COVID-19.
Wrap‑up: The City’s Resilience
Singapore’s hospitals are carving out a position of resilience, opening extra doors while staying mindful of the “cost” of those new beds—cost in both resources and time. As the nation “lives with COVID,” the message is clear: the healthcare hubs stay busy, the patients stay safe, and the city keeps moving forward.
