Battling COVID-19 As One

23 Jul 2020 | Special Delivery

In the fight against COVID-19, healthcare professionals across KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital are stepping to the fore in providing care for infected children and pregnant women, and those suspected to have COVID-19. KKH teams are also enjoined in combined national efforts to provide medical treatment and aid, and to keep our community safe.

Click below to read KKH healthcare professionals sharing their thoughts and experiences responding to the COVID-19 pandemic:

IN THE HOSPITAL

PROUD TO BE OF SERVICE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST INFECTIOUS DISEASE

When COVID-19 first broke out in Singapore, the beginning was a period of flurry of activity and I remembered feeling galvanised, if not slightly sombre during that unusually busy Lunar New Year period. Little did I know then, how our lives would be irrevocably changed. – Dr Karen Donceras Nadua, Associate Consultant, Infectious Disease, KKH

When the DORSCON level was raised to orange on 7 February 2020, our team immediately moved to set up an Extended Screening Area outside the Children’s Emergency at KKH, in preparation for an anticipated surge in patients. – Ms Huang Weili, Nurse Clinician, Division of Nursing, KKH

(Read more)

PREGNANT WITH COVID-19

On 21 March 2020, the Delivery Suite received our first confirmed case of a pregnant woman with COVID-19. As a midwife, I was part of the dedicated team established to look after pregnant women who are suspected to have COVID-19. – Ms Julie Tay, midwife and Assistant Director, Nursing, Division of Nursing, KKH

Our first paediatric patient with COVID-19 arrived alone, and had to be cared for in an isolation room, in line with strict infection control measures. Due to the child’s young age, the medical team had to strike a careful balance in meeting the child’s needs, whilst guarding against the very real threat of infection. – Dr Kam Kai-Qian, Associate Consultant, Infectious Disease, KKH

(Read more)

SACRIFICES FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL

The day we processed the first COVID-19 sample, it was all in a day’s work for the team at the Molecular Microbiology Laboratory. Our primary mission is to run laboratory tests for SARS Coronavirus 2, which is responsible for COVID-19. – Dr Loo Liat Hui, Senior Principal Medical Laboratory Scientist, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, KKH

Our team’s immediate priority was to ready the hospital’s facilities to safely receive and facilitate care for pregnant women and children who tested positive, or were suspected to have COVID-19. Various facilities had to be augmented or converted. – Mr Ngoo Mei Whei, Manager, Facilities Management, KKH

(Read more)

IN THE COMMUNITY

CONNECTING WITH PATIENTS THROUGH LANGUAGE

As a Bengali speaker, I was glad to be part of the KKH volunteer clinical team manning a mobile medical post in a dormitory in April 2020. I am glad for every opportunity to make a difference to the lives of my patients, wherever they may be. – Dr Syeda Kashfi Qadri, Associate Consultant, KKH

A challenge that our pharmacists faced in the dormitories, and one that required some ingenuity, was how to treat patients with chronic health conditions as their medications from their home countries began to run out. – Mr Mohammed Nazri Bin Abdul Ghani, Principal Pharmacist, Pharmacy Department, KKH

In late March 2020, seeing the rising need for help to provide COVID-19 screening and medical care to migrant workers, I joined fellow healthcare colleagues in answering the call to serve. My volunteer post was at one of the first mobile medical posts that KKH had set up at the dormitories. – Ms Lim Soo Ting, Senior Nurse Clinician and Advanced Practice Nurse, Nursing Clinical Services, KKH

(Read more)

COORDINATING EFFORTS TO CARE

In April 2020, as the number of COVID-19 cases in Singapore continued to rise, I volunteered to lend my support to fellow healthcare peers working on the frontlines of the nation-wide effort. Joining the administrative team of a Swab Isolation Facility (SIF), we facilitated daily coordination between the inter-agency Joint Task Force and staff of the hotel designated as the SIF, to provide care for the migrant workers who were admitted. – Ms Foo Hui Ling, Assistant Manager, Office of Patient Experience, KKH

(Read more)

RESOURCES FOR FAMILIES
The global coronavirus health crisis can be a stressful time for everyone in Singapore and around the world. Everyone responds to stress differently — children and teenagers are no exception. KKH psychologists share tips on how parents and caregivers can help children and teenagers stay meaningfully engaged amidst a stressful time, and help them to better cope with the evolving situation.
	1. Supporting a child who is distressed by COVID-19 Top tips by KKH psychologists to help parents and caregivers better support children who may be distressed due to COVID-19. (Click to read)
	2. Helping children and teenagers better cope with COVID-19 Practical advice to help families, children and teenagers cope with COVID-19 related stress, practise self-care, and nurture family relationships during COVID-19. (Click to read)
	3. How Stressful Times Affect Our Window of Tolerance A person’s ‘window of tolerance’ is a zone within which the nervous system can be relaxed, calm, alert and engaged. Read about how stress can affect the window of tolerance, and tips to widen and regulate your child’s window of tolerance. (Click to read)