My Ratings on CGH

After a 7-day stay at Changi, I do have some comments about the hospital. Some good and some, well...

The good :

From my observations, the nurses and attendants at Changi performed their duties with clockwork precision. Practically everything was on time, like, meals, sponge bathes, medicines. In fact, I think the nurses did very well in performing their supporting duties to the doctors.

Meals - on time. I had requested for a 'fish only' meals, and was duly served with the same type of fish cooked in different styles. I appreciate the effort. I never had my meals nor had I seen other patients' meals mixed up. We had breakfast, lunch, dinner, morning tea, afternoon tea and supper and we never felt hungry.

Bedsheets and pyjamas - at night, an attendant would go round distributing bedsheets and pyjamas to all the patients. At around 4.00 am, the night shift nurses would go round in pairs or with an attendant to sponge those patients confined to bed. At the same time, the pyjamas, bedsheets/pillow cases of these patients would also be changed.

Sponge bath - This was my first experience to be sponged by nurses and I think they did a very clean job. Everything was in the trolley, steel basin for warm water, powder, body bath, tissues (like those Magiclean ones, but much thicker). They don't use wet ones like SGH. They actually those thick tissues with warm water. I felt so clean after the sponging. The more diligent ones would change the water after every patient. Anyway, the water was only used for wetting the tissues and not for washing.

The night shift had 4 nurses to 44(?-if I am not mistaken) patients, and what with patients like me who had to be wheeled down every night for x-rays, and with the occasional difficult patient who kept trying to run away that they had to be restrained, I think the nurses managed very well.

Changi had their fair share of student nurses on attachment and I could see that they were properly taken off.

The medication was dispensed on time too. I liked the idea of the nurse donning a sleeveless jacket that said 'Do not disturb' when they are on medicational rounds.

The bad :

I didn't understand the logic of this arrangement, but the nurse's patients were all over, i.e. for any one nurse, the patients were not all in the same room. Doctors had to ask which nurse is in charge of this patient and patients had to ask who is my nurse.

In my case, the nurses failed to recognise a patient in distress. I was not sure if it was due to lack of proper follow-up, or inexperience.