The Department of Anaesthesiology at Sengkang General Hospital comprises a team of dedicated anaesthesia specialists who provide expert perioperative care to patients in a comprehensive and compassionate manner. In addition to being specialists in general anaesthesia, the anaesthesiology team also comprises specialists with a wide range of expertise in various sub-specialities e.g. neuroanaesthesia, cardiothoracic, transplant, obstetric and paediatric anaesthesia, pain management and intensive care. The Department is also part of Singhealth’s Anaesthesia Academic Clinical Programme and actively contributes to teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and postgraduate doctors. The Department constantly seeks new ways to improve patient care and safety by promoting value and quality through clinical audit, research, publication, and innovation.
As a perioperative physician involved in the surgical patient’s journey, the anaesthesiologist, in collaboration with other specialists, ensures that a patient is optimised and prepared for surgery by a thorough review of his/her medical status. Intra-operatively, the anaesthesiologist formulates and individualises an anaesthetic plan, tailored to the patient’s medical history, type of surgery, pain relief and post-operative care requirements with quality equipment. The anaesthesiologist is present throughout surgery and anaesthesia, monitoring the patient’s condition whilst titrating the depth of anaesthesia, pain relief, drugs and fluids, always mindful of the patient’s safety, comfort and care.
Clinical services provided by the Department include:
Pre-Operative Assessment Clinic
- Patients are screened and assessed on their perioperative risks prior to surgery through history, physical examination, and medical investigation. Risk counselling and optimisation for surgery is then provided.
- Pre-operative preparation, such as fasting, including various anaesthetic options, post-operative pain management strategies are discussed with the patient.
- Please refer to this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmD-8MH8QF4) for more details on the preparation for your surgery.
Clinical Anaesthesia
- The Department provides anaesthesia support for a variety of specialties as listed below:
- General Surgery (colorectal, hepatobiliary, head & neck, breast, plastic and reconstruction, upper gastrointestinal, vascular)
- Orthopaedics (General orthopaedics, trauma, spine, hand surgery)
- Ear, Nose and Throat
- Dental
- Opthalmology
- Urology
- Gynaecology
- Interventional Radiology
- Endoscopy Centre
- Interventional Cardiology
- Neurosurgery (emergency)
- Thoracic Surgery (emergency)
- Ambulatory (Day) Surgery
- 24-hour anaesthesia support for emergency surgery, hospital-wide difficult airway management and resuscitation.
Post Anaesthesia Care Unit
The anaesthesiologist oversees the Post Anaesthesia Care Unit where the patient is monitored and recovered after anaesthesia and surgery. Painkillers and other medications are titrated till the patient is comfortable and stable for discharge to the ward.
Pain Management
SKH Anaesthesiology department provides pain management services which aim to improve the quality of lives of patients with chronic cancer and non-cancer pain. The centre helps these patients restore function and manage chronic pain, using a multi-pronged approach by addressing medical, physical, and psychological aspects of pain. The services provided by the Centre include
- Acute Pain Service:
- Providing pre- and post-operative pain management procedures like epidurals, patient-controlled analgesia and regional nerve blocks
- Pain Clinic
- Providing inpatient consults and outpatient chronic pain assessment and multidisciplinary management inclusive of medications, interventions (e.g. epidural steroid injections, joint injections), and collaboration with psychological and physiotherapy services for various conditions not limited to:
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Acupuncture Service
- Licensed MOH-registered Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncturists provide a synergistic east-west approach for the treatment of specific conditions, taking into consideration the patient’s pre-existing medical condition.
Intensive Care Unit
Some of our anaesthesiologists are dually accredited in intensive care medicine and are visiting consultants to the Department of Intensive Care Medicine which provide evidence-based care to critically ill adult patients in a multidisciplinary environment.
