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SAF Launches One-Stop Cardiac Screening Facility
16 January 2015
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Mr Chan (second from left) being briefed on the echocardiography, a specialised cardiac screening test that provides information about the heart such as its size, pumping capacity and presence of structural defects.
Second Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing officiated at the opening ceremony of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Cardiac Fitness Centre (SCFC) this morning. During a tour of the facility, he was briefed on the operations and features of SCFC.
Located within the new 12-storey National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) building, the SCFC is a dedicated one-stop facility that serves pre-enlistees, SAF Regulars and SAF Operationally Ready National Servicemen who have been referred to by SAF Medical Officers to undergo specialised cardiac screening investigations to determine their cardiovascular fitness.
In his opening address, Mr Chan said that the SCFC was one of the SAF's collaborations with the local healthcare institutions to provide better care for our servicemen. He said, "Ministry of Defence and the SAF's philosophy has always been to design our healthcare system to be integrated as part of the national system. In this way, the SAF can benefit from the advances and the capacity of the civilian healthcare system. Likewise, the civilian system can also draw upon the capabilities and capacity of the SAF."
The centralisation of specialised cardiac screening tests in SCFC enables the SAF to shorten the screening turn-around time and determine pre-enlistees' medical classification and servicemen's medical fitness for operational and physical training such as the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT), more efficiently. The one-stop facility also allows the SAF to provide greater continuity of cardiac care for our pre-enlistees and servicemen, and brings about greater consistency in the conduct and interpretation of specialised cardiac tests.
Cardiac screening is an essential part of medical screening in the SAF that all pre-enlistees and servicemen have to undergo before they are enlisted and deployed for military training and operations. Specialised cardiac screening investigations at the SCFC are part of the SAF's cardiac screening protocols for pre-enlistees and servicemen who have been found to have abnormalities or cardiovascular risk factors in their initial medical examination.
Since 2008, the SAF has been partnering NHCS in reviewing various investigation modalities in optimising cardiac screening. The establishment of the SCFC would further strengthen this collaboration, said Rear-Admiral (DR) Kang Wee Lee, SAF's Chief of Medical Corps. He explained, "With all cardiac screening being centralised at a single dedicated centre, the SAF will be able to better collate and study the cardiovascular risk profile of our pre-enlistees and servicemen. We will continue to work closely with our cardiology counterparts at NHCS to leverage the latest cardiac screening modalities and best medical practices. This ensures that the SAF cardiac screening protocols remain robust and relevant."
Pre-enlistees and SAF servicemen who are referred to undergo specialised cardiac screening such as the exercise electrocardiogram (above) and CT Coronary Calcium score (below) can now visit the SCFC.
Pre-enlistees and SAF servicemen who are referred to undergo specialised cardiac screening such as the exercise electrocardiogram (above) and CT Coronary Calcium score (below) can now visit the SCFC.
Second Minister for Defence Mr Chan Chun Sing (second from left), LG Ng, BG Lim and Medical Director of NHCS/Chairman of the SAF Cardiology Specialist Advisory Board Professor Terrance Chua (second from right) unveiling the SCFC plaque.
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