One Year on: An Overview of Singapore’s Response to COVID-19—What We Did, How We Fared, How We Can Move Forward

Abstract

Background—One year has passed since the first COVID-19 case in Singapore. This scoping review commemorates Singaporean researchers that have expanded the knowledge on this novel virus. We aim to provide an overview of healthcare-related articles published in peer-reviewed journals, authored by the Singapore research community about COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic. Methods—This was reported using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) protocol. It included healthcare-related articles about COVID-19 published between 23 January 2020 and 22 January 2021 with a Singapore-affiliated author. MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and local journals were searched. The articles were screened independently by two reviewers. Results—The review included 504 articles. Most of the articles narrated the changes to hospital practice (210), while articles on COVID-19 pathology (94) formed most of the non-narrative papers. Publications on public health (61) and the indirect impacts to clinical outcomes (45) were other major themes explored by the research community. The remaining articles detailed the psychological impact of the pandemic (35), adaptations of medical education (30), and narratives of events (14). Conclusion—Amidst a resurgence of community cases involving variant COVID-19 strains, the resources from the research community will provide valuable guidance to navigate these uncertain times.

A comparative study of key quality performance indicators in anesthesia and surgery in operation theatre at a tertiary care hospital in Rishikesh

“…[ 15 ] The earliest practical lessons in the safe conduct of surgery were derived from the experiences of Chinese and Italian surgeons who worked in the epicenters of the epidemics in Asia and Europe during the early stages of the pandemic. [ 16 ] The goal of quality assurance is to provide a high level of anesthetic care with a focus on patient safety during the perioperative phase, minimization of risk and continual quality improvement via rigorous audits. Safety, effectiveness and the patient’s overall experience with the anesthetic operation are all key indications of anesthesia quality in modern clinical practice.…”

Long COVID—Challenges in diagnosis and managing return-to-work

“…However, these clinics were primarily set up to respond to the requirements of the pandemic on the detection, triaging, and management of COVID‐19 patients. 8 As he was clinically stable with no evidence of immediate life‐threatening signs and symptoms, no treatment or further clinical investigations were done. There was also no diagnosis offered for his symptoms, given the paucity of understanding and awareness of long COVID.…”

“…He sought medical treatment twice with general practitioners at primary healthcare clinics, known as Public Health Preparedness Clinics. However, these clinics were primarily set up to respond to the requirements of the pandemic on the detection, triaging, and management of COVID‐19 patients 8 . As he was clinically stable with no evidence of immediate life‐threatening signs and symptoms, no treatment or further clinical investigations were done.…”

Project SAPPORO (StAff prescription – bluPORt optimization): Quality improvement report on the expanded use of secured medication lockers for hospital staff during COVID-19 pandemic

“…The first imported case of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) was discovered in Singapore on 23 rd January 2020. 1 In response to the rising local transmission rates, the Multi-Ministry Taskforce implemented an elevated set of safe distancing measures, as a circuit breaker from 7 th April 2020 until 4 th May 2020. While essential services such as providing healthcare remained operational during this circuit breaker period, safe distancing measures on capacity limits and physical separation were strictly enforced to minimize risk of transmission.…”