World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific

Health workers in Singapore

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Photos Courtesy of Tan Tock Seng Hospital

Daily meetings provided the latest updates on the developing situation. Key health officers map out the Government's plans and strategies. Nursing officers get an update on the latest situation, after which the information was communicated to ground staff. Health Emergency Department staff on duty in full personal protective equipment of N95 masks, gowns and gloves. Taking a much-needed break from caring for SARS patients, frontliners take time out to enjoy lunch. Emergency Department doctors discuss the screening and treatment process with a patient. Doctors carry out a careful examination of an x-ray to determine whether a patient has SARS. Nursing staff share a light moment at lunch, a way to cope with physical and emotional stress. With SARS on their mind, nurses go into deep discussion. Overwhelmed by emotion, a nurse sheds a tear as she watches a patient suffering from SARS. To minimize cross infections, a nurse in the patient isolation room communicates with a colleague through a glass wall – a common sight in the Intensive Care Unit. Tracheotomies were done in the Intensive Care Unit, rather than in operating rooms, to minimise the risk of infection A picture of triumph, a former SARS patient hugs health staff who cared for her. Social workers give support to SARS patients and their families, paving the way for them to get back to normal life. The laundry room at the Communicable Diseases Centre. With staff safety a must, ambulance drivers were required to put on personal protective equipment to ferry patients. Hygiene was a major undertaking during the SARS outbreak as isolation rooms underwent thorough cleaning after each patient was moved out. Gratitude to frontliners who battled SARS was reflected in posters and other tributes done by children, SARS patients, individuals and groups. A luncheon concert was held to thank healthcare workers for their hard work and sacrifice in combating SARS. 



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