CARDIAC FITNESS SCREENING IN THE SAF

Cardiac screening is a key component of medical screening in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) that all pre-enlistees and servicemen have to undergo before they are enlisted and deployed for military training and operations. This ensures that SAF servicemen are deployed according to their medical fitness so that they can undergo tough and rigorous training and conduct operations safely.

Cardiac screening is constantly evolving and the SAF continues to refine its cardiac screening system to provide robust and quality screening that leverages the latest advances in cardiac screening technology. For example, the SAF introduced CT Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CACS) into its screening system in 2011 to allow for earlier detection of heart disease among our servicemen.

Specialised cardiac screening investigations are part of the SAF's comprehensive cardiac screening protocols which are aligned with standards recommended by the European Society of Cardiology and International Olympic Committee, and higher than the standards recommended by the American Heart Association. Pre-enlistees and servicemen found to have abnormalities such as a heart murmur, or cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes and high cholesterol in their initial medical examination by the SAF Medical Officer, are referred for specialised cardiac screening investigations under the SAF's cardiac screening system. To provide these specialised cardiac screening tests and cardiology consultation services at a centralised facility dedicated for all pre-enlistees and servicemen, the SAF has partnered the National Heart Centre Singapore (NHCS) to establish the SAF Cardiac Fitness Centre (SCFC).

SAF CARDIAC FITNESS CENTRE

Location and features

The SCFC is located at Level 8 of the new 12-storey NHCS building. It features dedicated consultation clinic rooms and testing stations for specialised cardiac screening investigations such as Exercise Electrocardiogram (ECG), Echocardiography, Myocardial Perfusion Imaging and CACS.

Benefits

Faster specialised cardiac screening, potentially shorter waiting time for enlistment, faster medical clearance for IPPT, and minimised deployment downtime. The SCFC's cardiac screening infrastructure, which is dedicated for pre-enlistees and servicemen, enables cardiac screening to be conducted based on SAF's standardised screening protocols. It also increases the SAF's capacity to conduct specialised cardiac screening tests. With the SCFC, more pre-enlistees and servicemen can be scheduled for specialised cardiac investigations within the same amount of time as compared to the former system of decentralised specialised screening process. As a result, the SAF is able to determine medical classification and medical fitness for operational and training activities such as the Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) more quickly and efficiently. This not only allows the SAF to maintain its operational readiness by minimising deployment downtime, but also benefits both servicemen - by giving them faster medical clearance needed for their IPPT; and pre-enlistees - by expediting the pre-enlistment medical classification process, thereby potentially decreasing the waiting time for enlistment into National Service.

Increased convenience for pre-enlistees and servicemen. Housing the specialised cardiac screening tests within the SCFC gives pre-enlistees and servicemen greater convenience as they no longer have to travel to various healthcare facilities such as the SAF Military Medicine Institute, restructured hospitals and national specialty centres to undergo specialised cardiac screening investigations and seek medical reviews. This one-stop facility, conveniently situated at a centralised location, allows for pre-enlistees and servicemen to go through tests and complete their consultations within the same facility.

Increased continuity of specialist cardiac care. Prior to the establishment of the SCFC, servicemen requiring specialist cardiology management for newly-diagnosed heart conditions were being cross-referred to a national specialist centre such as the NHCS. Now, with cardiac screening services and treatment facilities co-located in SCFC, these servicemen can receive one-stop screening service, treatment and management of their conditions. This ensures greater continuity of specialist cardiac care for our servicemen.

Closer research partnership with NHCS. The SAF Medical Corps and NHCS have shared a close partnership in cardiac research since 2008. The co-location of the SCFC and the National Heart Research Institute Singapore (NHRIS) in the new NHCS building allows for closer research collaboration between the SAF and NHCS. With all cardiac screening services now centralised in the SCFC, the SAF will be able to better collate and study the health profiles of pre-enlistees and servicemen. This data allows the SAF to explore and leverage new cardiac screening modalities to ensure that our cardiac screening protocols remain robust and relevant.