Chong Hua Hospital's; ER Complex; Best Treatment just in Time

The patient in the next bed is bathed in blood, another is screaming in pain, while others twitch in agony as some more are queuing, waiting for their turn to be treated. This is a common scene among hospital emergency rooms (ERs). This makes the "emergency room experience" encountered by most patients so undesirable and traumatic.

Fortunately, this is a thing of the past for Chong Hua Hospital with the opening of their Emergency Room Complex (ERC) - a spacious and expanded emergency room with separate sections for Adult Medicine (ten cubicles), Critical Care (four cubicles), OB-GYN (two cubicles), Pediatrics Medicine (eight cubicles) and Surgery (four cubicles).

"Our clientele is increasing with the opening of our new building and we see the need of a bigger ER. This is an improvement in terms of our services and when a patient come to us, his/her need will be accommodated immediately," said Dr. Mayleen Laico, Chong Hua Hospital's Department of Emergency and Out-Patient Services Head. She added that they want to alter the negative popular notion of a typical ER.

At the entrance of the ER complex is the triage station for patient assistance and assessment.

"A triage officer will continue to conduct screening procedures in an effort to cope with an increasing number of visits related to non-urgent conditions. Patients with serious medical conditions will receive immediate care. The only patients who will experience a slight delay in the emergency room treatment are those who have been determined to have a condition that is not serious," disclosed Dr. Helen Po, Chong Hua Hospital's Medical Director and Chief Operating Officer.

Dr. Po reasoned that the treatment in the emergency room is, and will continue to be, based solely on the severity of the condition. The emergency room has a special purpose - to provide timely and appropriate care to the most seriously sick or injured in the community. At Chong Hua's ER, this sacrosanct purpose is safeguarded.

The ER complex is also equipped with an ear, nose and throat (ENT) room that can also be used for emergency nebulization and blood extraction, isolation rooms for treating infectious diseases, an adjacent medical imaging room (Digital radiography Swissray), diarrheal treatment units for oral rehydration, health maintenance organization (HMO) services, a central nurses station and supply room and a discussion room for doctors and patients' relatives.

With the 650-square meter ER complex, Chong Hua Hospital has revamped the ER process. Apart from providing acute care for surgical, medical, obstetric/gynecological and pediatric cases, every department that plays a role in emergency care is involved, including lab services, radiology, central supply and pharmacy services. "The Chong Hua Hospital ER process is geared towards meeting patients' needs. We want to provide the right care at the right place right from the start," Dr. Po said.

"The main difference of our old ER to this one now is that it has three times the capacity of the previous ER, and is more defined in terms of the various services. It's definitely bigger and better. The four critical care units within are equipped with facilities designed to stabilize and closely monitor morbid patients. Apart from structural improvements, there are consultants and residents who will exclusively serve the Emergency Room on a 24/7 basis," said Dr. Joanne Cosin, Chong Hua Hospital's Director for Patient Services.

Above all, in order to support these services, Chong Hua Hospital President and Chief Executive Officer Lim Liu outfitted the complex with all new and modern machines. "This is definitely bigger and better," he related.

"When you or a loved one really needs us, we'll be here and we'll be ready," Liu concluded.