National-level SWAT Team To Response To Infections

A national-level "Swat Team", comprising infectious disease experts who can be mobilised at short notice to respond to outbreaks in any healthcare institution may be set up.

This is one of four measures being considered by the task force headed by Minister of State for health, Chee Hong Tat.

Such a team will strengthen Singapore's capabilities to respond to outbreaks, said Mr Chee as it is not feasible for every healthcare facility to have a full-fledged infection control response team that can respond to complex and unusual outbreaks.

Mr Chee said: "The 'Swat team' members can come from different institutions in Singapore (in) both public and private sectors.

"There could be a few full-time members while the rest are experts from our hospitals, universities and government agencies who MOH could call upon and activate during an outbreak."

Associate Professor David Lye, senior consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Infectious Diseases Department and Institute of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology, said a "Swat team" is a fantastic idea. "We are small and we do not have the same number of experts in every institution. The 'Swat team' allows us to get experts from different areas together very rapidly and work together on an emergent issue," he said.