Ministry of Health Stop non-critical health check-ups for now
There has been much focus on and support for our healthcare workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

There are some additional measures that the Government can consider to manage our healthcare resources and better protect the general public against the virus.

One area of concern is the people going to clinics and hospitals for non-critical blood tests and health screening. There are a fair number of people who do so each day.

These include workers who go for pre-employment check-ups, maids who go for compulsory six-monthly check-ups, students who go for compulsory pre-activity check-ups, and generally healthy people going for their annual medical check-ups.

The risk for the individual is relatively small, given the high standard of care at medical facilities and from staff.

But at this critical moment, the resources allocated for these tests could potentially be channelled to ensure Singapore has sufficient resources to deal with any spike in infection cases. Such measures for specialist outpatient visits have been implemented already.

It is time to encourage the delay or temporary suspension of non-critical check-ups and tests so that our medical resources can be used to help those in the community who need more care during this vulnerable time.

Chong Ryh Huei

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/forum/forum-stop-non-critical-health-check-ups-for-now

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