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With recliners, televisions, magazine racks and staff handing out blankets and warm beverages, the Discharge Lounge at Changi General Hospital (CGH) is very much like an airport lounge.

With the introduction of the Lounge in 2014, patients due for discharge can now wait in the lounge instead of in the wards, for their discharge documentation to be ready.

This frees up beds for patients who need to be admitted from the Accident & Emergency (A&E) Department, Specialist Outpatient Clinics and other wards in the hospital. It resulted in a significant improvement over the last three years, with 20 per cent of patients seen at the A&E Department having their admission waiting time reduced by approximately one hour.

The Lounge is strategically located next to the Pharmacy, the final stop in the discharge process. Patients waiting at the Lounge are given priority when collecting medication from the Pharmacy. The team also collaborated with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to set up AICare Link within the Lounge, which serves as a one-stop centre for patients and their caregivers to get information on home care services and healthcare assistance schemes.

Discharge Lounge Care Team
Changi General Hospital

Winner of the Best Team - Service Initiative Improvement Award, Singapore Health Quality Service Awards 2018