Professor Chong Tze Tec NEW programme for diabetic ulcers ensures quick treatment for most patients in outpatient clinics without the need for a hospital stay. In the past, diabetes patients visiting Singapore General Hospital’s (SGH) Emergency Department with foot ulcers were automatically admitted for treatment by specialists. While this ensured that serious ulcers were quickly seen to, it meant that those with minor wounds were ushered into admission, taking up beds that could have been given to those with more urgent needs.
Since 2022, however, only those with an urgent need to be treated in hospital were admitted while the others were cared for in outpatient clinics under a new structured programme called Rapid Access FooT, or RAFT. “We know that diabetic foot ulcer is the tail end of end-stage diabetes, and patients with ulcers have a major risk of amputation,” said Professor Chong Tze Tec, Senior Consultant and Head, Department of Vascular Surgery, SGH, noting that 25 per cent of foot ulcer patients underwent amputations a year. “I wanted to improve the outcomes for diabetic foot ulcer patients by giving them quick access to us without having an impact on the already tight hospital bed situation.
So RAFT lets us pay more attention to this group of patients by giving them some extra special help and attention through a fast track to a specialised clinic.” Patients are usually admitted for one to two days, sometimes more if their condition requires follow-up co.
