Assoc Prof Fatimah Lateef: (a) Are there procedures currently in practice for sending casualties from SAF training sites to a SAF medical centre first before they can be referred to a restructured hospital; (b) if so, what are these procedures; and (c) on average, how far are the SAF medical centres usually located from SAF training sites.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen: Sir, casualties during SAF training are evacuated based on procedures reviewed and endorsed by the SAF Emergency Medicine Specialist Advisory Board. This Board comprises senior emergency medicine and trauma surgery specialists from the Government restructured hospitals.

The first priority is to evacuate an injured serviceman to the nearest medical facility that has the appropriate level of care, as time is of the essence in an emergency situation. The nearest medical facility can either be the Emergency Resuscitation Facility which is within an SAF medical centre or a restructured hospital's emergency department. There is no requirement that the injured serviceman must be sent to an SAF medical centre in all instances. All the Emergency Resuscitation Facilities in the SAF are equipped to deal with a wide range of medical emergencies. SAF Medical Officers stationed at the ERF are trained and accredited in advanced clinical resuscitation protocols, including Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Advanced Trauma Life Support and Emergency Airway Management.

In the event that the injured serviceman is sent to an Emergency Resuscitation Facility or ERF, the SAF Medical Officer will assess, stabilize, and start advanced treatment or resuscitation of the casualty. Resuscitation procedures will continue en-route to the restructured hospital's emergency department, if further treatment in the hospital is required. Evacuation to the hospital would be via land ambulance or helicopter if it is the faster mode after taking into consideration accessibility to a pick-up point and activation and flight time.

The SAF training areas are concentrated mainly in the western and northern parts of Singapore. These training areas are supported by a network of SAF medical centres. The average distance from a training area to the nearest SAF medical centre is about 3 to 4 km.