Emergency Medical Services

Emergency Medical Services
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Emergency Medical Services
Find out how SCDF responders react to emergency situations which happen in our heartland or in foreign countries, as well as our medical services and its deployment.
SCDF Emergency Medical Services
The SCDF operates a 24-hour Emergency Medical Services (EMS), which is ready to respond to any medical emergency in Singapore. The EMS crew is well trained and equipped to handle a wide range of medical emergencies.
Call 995 only for Emergency
The SCDF responded to 256,837 EMS calls in 2022, or about 704 a day. In a life-threatening emergency, every second is invaluable. You can make a difference between life and death by knowing what an emergency is.
Examples of emergencies: cardiac arrest, seizures, breathlessness, loss of consciousness, excessive bleeding, major traumas and stroke.
Non-Emergency Calls
Each year, about 10% of 995 calls are non-emergencies, an average of 50 calls a day. Every non-emergency call could delay SCDF's response to life-threatening emergencies, where every second counts.
Since April 2019, SCDF will not convey non-emergency cases to hospitals. Such cases will be advised to seek treatment from their family doctor or general practitioner at nearby clinics. For non-emergency cases who insist on going to a hospital, they will
be advised to make their own arrangements or call 1777 for a non-emergency ambulance.
From 2023 onwards, SCDF’s 995 Operations Centre will assess emergency call and send out ambulances only when they are deemed to be actual emergencies. This will ensure that our EMS resources are optimised for emergencies only, as committing emergency
resources to non-emergency cases will deprive those in need.
Examples of non-emergencies: toothaches, diarrhoea, coughs, headaches, slight burns or scalds, constipation, or medical check-ups.
EMS Tiered Response Framework
The EMS response framework was officially introduced on 1 April 2017. The framework will improve the overall health outcomes of EMS users, by allowing our EMS resources to respond to life-threatening cases faster.
This framework is premised on:
Differentiating 995 calls based on the seriousness of the patients’ medical condition. This is done through the telephone medical triaging and prioritisation of each ‘995’ call.
Secondly, matching the scale of SCDF resources and speed of response to the severity of each call. It is based on case acuity, from the most critical life-threatening emergencies to minor emergencies and non-emergencies.
SCDF is committed to respond to all emergency calls. However not every emergency call is a life threatening situation. The scale of SCDF resources and speed of response must commensurate with the case severity. For instance, utmost priority will be given
to an individual suffering from a highly time-sensitive life-threatening emergencies, such as cardiac arrest, as opposed to minor emergencies like cuts or bruises.
The categories of medical cases and SCDF’s corresponding response are as follows:
Telephone Medical Triaging
The Operations Centre specialists, supported by SCDF paramedics and staff nurses from the Ministry of Health, are specially trained to accurately classify each EMS call based on its severity and provide medical advice to callers before the arrival of
SCDF responders.
The public will be asked to provide pertinent information on the patient’s condition when they call 995 for EMS assistance. The cooperation of the caller in providing such information during an emergency is critical for the EMS response to
achieve its desired efficacy. Where necessary, the Operations Centre Specialists would also provide the callers with medical advice such as in performing CPR procedure on a cardiac arrest victim prior to the arrival of SCDF at the scene.
Where there are uncertainties over the exact condition of the patients during the telephone medical triaging, SCDF will adopt a cautious approach by deploying its resources on-site to better assess the severity of the patients and render medical treatment
where required.
FRS-EMT Response to Medical Emergencies
Over 300 SCDF Fire Response Specialists (FRS) have been trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) since 2012. These FRS-EMTs are able to respond to fire/rescue and medical emergencies.
Fire Bike
FRS-EMTs on Fire Bikes attends to life-threatening emergencies. Each bike is equipped with a medical bag that contains a slew of essential medical items such as medical drugs, oxygen cylinders, AED set and diagnostic equipment. The mobility of the FRS-EMT
on bike allows for quick arrival at the scene ahead of an ambulance, to stabilise and render immediate medical treatment to patient in life-threatening situations.
Fire Medical Vehicle
FRS-EMTs are also deployed to operate the Fire Medical Vehicle (FMV). The customized FMV is a hybrid of a fire appliance and an ambulance for dual response to either fire-rescue or medical emergencies. The FMV will be deployed for minor emergencies namely,
industrial and road traffic accidents, to stabilise and treat the patients and, where necessary, convey them to hospital.
High-Performance CPR
Life-threatening cases are critically time-sensitive and will receive enhanced SCDF medical support and a faster response. Starting from 1 April 2019, SCDF has implemented high-performance cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) progressively to improve the
treatment of victims who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. A high-quality CPR is the key to improving survival from cardiac arrest.
In such cases, more emergency responders will be dispatched to render prompt medical treatment and perform concerted high performance CPR on victims. SCDF will deploy additional EMTs in red rhino/fire engine/FMVs, in addition to sending an emergency ambulance
and a fire bike.
High performance CPR requires EMTs to work in precise unison with the ambulance EMS crew as a team to carry out procedures which will greatly improve the chances of the victim's survival. These include a focus on cutting down unnecessary pauses in chest
compressions, as well as ensuring that chest compressions are done to the ideal depth, at an appropriate rate and with controlled ventilation.
Alternative Care Options for Non-Emergencies
For cases which do not require an emergency response, you can:
Visit the nearest General Practitioner (GP) or polyclinic
Visit a 24-hour Urgent Care Centre
Contact the Nurse First helpline (6262 6262) for advice on where to seek medical help
Call 1777 for a non-emergency ambulance
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Which hospital will patient be conveyed to?
Patients will be conveyed to the nearest appropriate Ministry of Health-designated hospital by travel time. The fastest arrival of patients at the nearest hospital with the appropriate medical facility can make all the difference between life and death
in an emergency.
2. Can patients request for SCDF emergency ambulances to send them to any hospital of their choice?
SCDF emergency ambulances will only convey patients to the nearest appropriate Ministry of Health-designated hospital by travel time with the appropriate medical facility so that they can receive immediate medical attention.
3. Will I receive priority treatment at the A&E Department if I arrive in an SCDF emergency ambulance?
All patients arriving at A&E Department will be assessed by the medical staff at the hospital. Those assessed as critical will be attended to first, followed by less critical cases.
4. Will I be charged for using an SCDF emergency ambulance?
SCDF does not charge for any emergency cases it conveys to hospitals.  Since April 2019, SCDF no longer conveys non-emergency cases to hospitals. However, $274 will be charged for each non-emergency case that SCDF conveys to hospital.
For non-emergency cases such as toothaches, diarrhoea, coughs and headaches, make your way to the nearest clinic.  For those who insist on going to a hospital, you are advised to make your own travel arrangements or call 1777 for a non-emergency
ambulance at a fee.
Note: The final outcome of the emergency / non-emergency status of a patient will be based on the assessment of the doctor at the Emergency Department of the receiving hospital
5. What do I tell the 995 Operations Centre Specialists?
To facilitate a faster response to the patient, the 995 caller should do the following:
Identify yourself and provide a telephone number.
Provide the location and specific address/postal code or nearest prominent or landmark such as lamp post numbers or bus stop numbers. If you are calling 995 from an open area with no landmarks/buildings etc, you can use myResponder app to contact 995
which will register your location.
Describe the patient's signs and symptoms briefly with the help of a list of guided questions e.g. male, Chinese, 67 years old, having severe chest pain since 2 minutes ago, breathless, sweating.
Be calm and follow the instructions of the call taker. Do not hang up the telephone unless told to do so by the call taker.
Send somebody to wait for the EMS crew e.g. by opening the door or proceed to the lift lobby to direct the EMS crew to the patient.
If the condition of the patient deteriorates, to immediately call 995 for further instructions.
SMS 70995 Emergency Service
About SMS 70995
The SCDF has introduced the Emergency Short Messaging Service (SMS) function as part of its overall 995 emergency call taking capability. The number designated for SCDF’s Emergency SMS is 70995. This service is specially catered for
people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech impairment (DHS). Members of the DHS community can use a mobile phone to send an SMS to SCDF during emergencies such as a fire and/ or a medical condition requiring an SCDF emergency ambulance to convey
them immediately to hospital.
How do I use the service?
Send a brief SMS message to 70995 containing information on:
the nature of emergency (e.g. what has happened or is happening);
the location where it is happening (address or prominent landmark); and
the type of help required (fire / ambulance).
Contacting SCDF through SMS
When sending an emergency SMS to SCDF, DHS members are required to text the following information in their message:
Which Service is Required (Fire Engine or Ambulance);
Address/ Incident Location (Be descriptive, include landmarks); and
Nature of emergency (Fire, someone is trapped in the house, experiencing chest pains).
A typical emergency SMS message would be as follows:
For Fire:-
Fire Engine. Blk 889 Tampines St 81 #[Unit Number.] or Postal Code, #[Unit Number]. My neighbour’s room is on fire.
For Ambulance:-
Ambulance. Blk 889 Tampines St 81, #[Unit Number] or Postal Code, #[Unit Number]. My mother has fainted.
When an emergency SMS is received from a registered DHS user, SCDF will send out an auto-reply SMS to acknowledge receipt of the message, and that SCDF officers are attending to the SMS message. A follow-up SMS will also be sent to inform that SCDF resource(s)
are on the way.
Note:
There are no additional charges apart from the normal Telco charges applicable to SMS.
Do's and Don'ts
Indicate which service you require and why (eg. Police, Ambulance or Fire engine)
Try to be as detailed as possible when providing your location (eg. street name, block number, unit number, name of establishment, etc.)
Include a brief description of what had happened.
Avoid ambiguous SMS abbreviations (eg. ‘I w W8 4 Pol b4 e bus stopl8r’ which means to say ‘I will wait for Police before the bus stop later’).
NOTE:
Unless you have a disability to speak, you are highly encouraged to call 995 to speak to our operators.