SAF INTRODUCES NEW AMBULANCE SERVICE

Time is of the essence when it comes to saving lives. To strengthen existing casualty evacuation systems and allow casualties to receive appropriate levels of care within the shortest possible time, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has introduced a new SAF Emergency Ambulance Service (EAS).

This will allow casualties to be evacuated from SAF training areas directly to pre-designated restructured hospitals while receiving appropriate care along the way. EAS ambulances will only be activated in the case of casualties with life- and/or limb-threatening injuries requiring urgent evacuation.

In the past, in situations where there is no ambulance and Medical Officer (MO) on-site, a casualty is evacuated from the training area to the nearest appropriate medical facility (most often an SAF medical centre) by the SAF Medic. In the medical centre, the Medical Officer will treat and stabilise the casualty before accompanying him to the nearest hospital.

With the new SAF EAS in place, a serious casualty will be evacuated to a casualty collection point (CCP) in the training area. A CCP is a specially constructed facility to facilitate the transfer of casualties onto the EAS ambulance.

Simultaneously, an EAS Team is activated and will arrive at the CCP within 11 minutes of activation. The EAS Team will then stabilise and take over care of the casualty before evacuating him to the nearest hospital.

The EAS team is headed by a paramedic and consists of three personnel. They are also currently running the National EAS system as SCDF 995-call responders.

"Once we receive the call, we will respond to (arrive at) the location," explained Mr Darren Wee, a Senior Ambulance Medical Orderly (SAMO) and member of an EAS Team. "At the same time, we find out about the casualty's medical condition.

"We will then work towards stabilising the casualty while moving off to the hospital."

"Our role as a paramedic is to provide pre-hospital emergency care," added Ms Nurul Elfyana, who is also a member of an EAS Team.

The EAS will thus strengthen the medical coverage for outfield training where there are no MO and ambulance on-site, expediting evacuation for serious casualties while providing appropriate care along the way.

Noting that the EAS will complement the SAF's existing medical services, Military Expert 4-2 Koh Ping Wah, Formation Sergeant Major, Headquarters Army Medical Services, said: "One key enhancement would be the continuity of care... The SAF Medic will now be able to do first line treatment before handing over the casualty to the paramedic in the training area, and the paramedic will provide critical resuscitative care while evacuating the casualty directly to the hospital." The SAF EAS Bases are strategically sited together with existing medical centres at six camps: Mandai Hill Camp, Nee Soon Camp, Kranji Camp, Keat Hong Camp, Pasir Laba Camp, and Sungei Gedong Camp. This allows EAS ambulances to reach designated CCPs at the Northern and Western training areas within 11 minutes.