Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) explains its emergency medical protocol

The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.compublished/ on Apr 21, 2012

SAF explains its emergency medical protocol

WE THANK Dr Ng Shin Yi ('NSF's death: Doctor queries medical protocol in field, SAF centres'; Thursday).

The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) emergency medical support system (EMSS) is built upon the 'chain of survival' process adopted by the American Heart Association.

The system's chain comprises five key components: Early Access (to medical attention), Buddy Aid (including cardiopulmonary resuscitation), Basic Life Support and Early Defibrillation, Advanced Resuscitation, and Evacuation for Continuing Care.

Every link in this chain is designed to provide the best possible medical care for our soldiers in training and operations.

All SAF medical centres have an Emergency Resuscitation Facility (ERF) to handle medical emergencies.

These are modelled after emergency resuscitation bays in the emergency departments of hospitals.

SAF medical officers stationed at the ERF are trained and accredited in advanced clinical resuscitation protocols, including Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Advanced Trauma Life Support and Emergency Airway Management.

Medical evacuation is an important component of EMSS.

The principle is to evacuate an injured serviceman to an emergency medical facility with the appropriate level of care within the shortest possible time.

This can either be the nearest ERF within an SAF medical centre or a restructured hospital's emergency department.

All SAF medical personnel are trained to decide on the most appropriate facility to evacuate an injured serviceman to in an emergency.

Dr Ng also asked about the training of our front-line medical personnel. SAF medics undergo systematic training on paramedic protocols for medical emergencies that they are likely to encounter.

This training is developed in conjunction with the Justice Institute of British Columbia, a leading educator for training pre-hospital care paramedics.

In addition, SAF medical personnel regularly conduct team-based training in managing medical emergencies.

Last year, the SAF introduced mobile medical evaluation teams to assess the medical response standards of the entire EMSS.

This stress-testing and evaluation allow the SAF to continually improve its EMSS capability and proficiency.

The SAF's EMSS is endorsed by the SAF Emergency Medicine Specialist Advisory Board, which comprises senior emergency medicine and trauma surgery specialists from Singapore's restructured hospitals.

This clinical governance framework ensures that the SAF's evacuation policy, training, medical equipping and protocols are continually benchmarked against best clinical practice guidelines.

The Ministry of Defence assures the public that while the training remains tough and realistic, the SAF also maintains high safety standards to ensure that the safety of our soldiers is not compromised.

Colonel (Dr) Kang Wee Lee
Chief of Medical Corps
Singapore Armed Forces




The Straits Times

http://www.straitstimes.compublished/ on Apr 19, 2012

NSF's death: Doctor queries medical protocol in field, SAF centres

LIKE most of the other national servicemen who collapsed during training, the latest victim was attended to by an onsite medic before evacuation to a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) medical centre ('NSF dies after collapsing during training exercise'; yesterday).

As I understand from the protocol, such servicemen will be treated by an SAF medical officer before being evacuated to a hospital, with resuscitation en route. Some of these servicemen, unfortunately, do not survive.

Can the SAF shed light on the standards of its medical officers, who often take up duty at its centres after having graduated from medical school only one to two years earlier, and are expected to perform life-saving resuscitation?

Are SAF medical officers expected to run a full adult cardiac life support code, that is, undertake a set of clinical interventions competently and urgently to stall or arrest life-threatening situations?

It is difficult for a junior medical officer supported only by medics to execute this medical code.

In a hospital, the code team often consists of experienced doctors and nurses.

Does the SAF Medical Corps audit the codes run by its servicemen? Are its medical officers regularly certified?

When a civilian collapses in public, he is tended to by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics, who practise a basic life support code called Basic Cardiac Life Support and Defibrillation, before being taken directly to a hospital.

As time and advanced medical support are of the essence, the SAF may want to harmonise its protocol with the SCDF's, and consider direct evacuation to a hospital when a soldier collapses in the field.

Dr Ng Shin Yi