National Centre for Infectious Diseases uses RTLS to boost capabilities

NCID MEDIA RELEASE | NCID.SG, 7 Sep 2019:

The National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) was officially opened today by Minister for Health Mr Gan Kim Yong. NCID houses clinical services, public health functions, outbreak training, public education and community engagement in outbreak readiness under one roof to enable a comprehensive and integrated approach to handling infectious disease threats.

TAPPING INTO HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY

To boost its capabilities, NCID is tapping the use of a Real-Time Location System (RTLS) which is expected to be rolled out at the end of this year to:

a) Enable the tracking of patients, visitors and staff in an outbreak, for rapid and reliable contact tracing so that necessary actions can be taken quickly to curb onward transmission;

b) Alert and monitor hand hygiene compliance of healthcare workers which is key to infection control in a healthcare setting; and

c) Facilitate asset tracking, making it easy to locate and recall key equipment like beds and wheelchairs in the event of a surge situation or an outbreak.

“The new and enhanced outbreak facilities, the continuous strive for excellence in care delivery, the expertise of our staff as well as the integration of clinical and public health functions of NCID to handle an infectious disease outbreak were put to the test in just a few short months since we moved to NCID. We will continue to strengthen our readiness to respond to an outbreak through the training of healthcare workers and to harness technologies in keeping the people of Singapore safe from infectious diseases,” said Professor Leo Yee Sin, NCID’s Executive Director.

The NCID Official Opening was attended by more than 150 guests from healthcare institutions and research institutes.

Other news sources:

New infectious diseases centre to have real-time location tracking | Video
Watch Video at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/new-infectious-diseases-centre-to-have-real-time-location-11885176