Thank you for choosing the National Heart Centre Singapore as your heart care provider. Our staff will do their best to make your stay at the hospital a pleasant experience. We hope the following information will help you to familiarise with the admission process.
Except for emergency cases, patients are admitted to National Heart Centre Singapore only on recommendation from their medical specialist from the Specialist Outpatient Clinic. Once a date for admission is confirmed, patients are accommodated and register themselves for their desired accommodation class.
On the day of your admission, please proceed to the location as informed. Please remember to bring the ORIGINAL documents of the following:
Please DO NOT bring excessive cash or other valuables like jewellery or handphone. If you have these items when you are admitted, please arrange for them to be taken home or hand them to the nurse-in-charge for safekeeping. NHCS will not be responsible for the loss of the valuables and cash kept in the ward.
A deposit is required at the time of admission to cover part of or the entire estimated hospital bill. You will be advised on the deposit required during the financial counselling session at our Specialist Outpatient Clinics (SOC) / Business Office.
You can pay your deposit either by cash, NETS, local cheque or credit card. If you are a non-resident, the deposit may be paid by cash, credit card or through a telegraphic transfer.
You are exempted from paying a deposit if:
Our staff will orientate you to the ward and facilities available when you arrive. You will then be clerked by the ward doctor which involves taking a detailed medical history and ordering of tests, if necessary.
The daily routine in the ward includes activities such as ward rounds by doctors, medication, meals, visiting hours and bedtime. However this routine may vary as laboratory tests, X-ray, treatment and other procedures will take place when required.
You will be given a wrist identification band with your name, NRIC and ward number to wear. Please wear it at all times while you are in the hospital as it enables the staff to confirm your identity.
Electric Bed
Electric beds are currently available in all A, B1 and B2 class wards. The control buttons for adjusting bed positions and other functions are found on both sides of the bed.
Overbed Table
The overbed table is specially designed to enable you to eat or write while in bed, or sitting on a chair. To adjust the height of the tabletop, release the lever beneath the table and lift / lower the tabletop gently. These tables are attached with wheel castors with locks so that the table can be secured when needed.
Call Bell
A call bell is attached to your bed panel. Please use it to call for assistance from the ward staff.
Patients' Lockers
Lockers equipped with digital lock are available at your bedside for the safekeeping of your belongings.
Food Service
We cater for Chinese, Indian/Muslim and Western diets. Patients in Class A and B1 wards can choose from a selection of menu presented through the TV menu available on our in-house TV channel 3, which runs throughout the day.
All our meals are specially planned by our dietitians to provide a balanced nutritional intake and meet your medical requirements. Special diets are also available to patients who need specific diet control or have special therapeutic needs. Please feel free to approach the ward nurses if you need to arrange for a consultation with our dietitians.
Telephone Services
There are card and coin telephones located at the entrances of the wards. There are also coin telephones along the corridors of Class B2 rooms. Bedside telephones are also available in single and 4-bed rooms. For local calls, please dial '9' followed by the telephone number. For overseas calls, please dial '0' for assistance from the operator. Please note that the telephone charges for overseas calls are not claimable through MediSave or insurance schemes.
Mobile Phones
We discourage the use of mobile phones in the wards as they may interfere with the medical equipment used to monitor the patients. Please request your visitors to turn off their handphones when they are in the ward.
Please note that the use of mobile phones is strictly prohibited in the Cardiothoracic Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CTICU), High Dependency (HD) wards and Intermediate Care Area (ICA).
In-house Entertainment
Radio, television and cable programmes are available in the wards.
Sleeper Units
Sleeper units are available for single rooms ar a rental fee. These are available for use from 9.00pm to 7.00am daily. Please approach the ward nurse for assistance.
The following services can be provided upon request (on a fee-for-service basis) to help make your stay more convenient and comfortable.
For foreign patients who have not fully recovered to travel unassisted, our staff can make arrangements for you to return to your home country. A suitable medical assistance company would be contacted to provide complete transportation and medical coverage for your trip.
Consultant-based Care
We practise team-based approach consultation, a common practice in other restructured hospitals.
During your stay with us, you will be attended to by a team of doctors comprising specialists assisted by Registrars and Medical Officers.
Consent Form
By coming to the Hospital, you have given general agreement to general diagnostic procedures and treatment which may be required for your condition. You are required to give specific consent to all invasive procedures and surgeries.
Before you sign on a consent form, our staff will explain to you the nature of the procedure/surgery to ensure that you have understood what is involved.
Updates on Your Medical Condition
Your medical records and information on your medical condition are confidential. We will only share this information with you and your next-of-kin. If your immediate family members wish to know more about your condition, they can approach the nurse-in-charge to arrange for a convenient time to meet the doctor. However, as it is not possible for our doctor to update all your family members who visit you at different times, you may wish to appoint one family member to be the representative to discuss any issue with the doctor.
We advise that you remain within the hospital premises until you are discharged by your doctor. If you have to leave the ward for any reason, please inform the nurse-in-charge. Patients who wish to be discharged against a doctor's advice would be required to sign an AOR (At Own Risk) form.
To ensure that you and other patients have adequate rest, we request that your visitors visit you during the visiting hours from 12.00pm - 2.00pm and 5.00pm - 8.30pm. Generally not more than four visitors may visit you at any one time during visiting hours. We also request that your visitors be sensitive to the needs of other patients during the visiting hours. We discourage visitors from bringing children and babies to the wards especially the High Depency wards, Intensive Care Unit and Intermediate Care Area.
The ICU is a restricted area as the patients here are critically ill and require intensive monitoring. We allow only two visitors at any one time during visiting hours.
NHCS provides training for caregivers which includes relatives and maids. Qualified trainers will provide information on how to assist the sick or disabled person to bathe, feed, change positions in bed, transfer from bed to chair or vice versa.
There is a fee charged for the caregivers' training. Please approach the ward nurse for more information.
Being the tertiary centre for heart disease, our doctors are involved in the training of young doctors in this field of specialty. There may be times when trainee doctors and nurses make their rounds during your stay. We hope you can give your cooperation to these staff when they make their rounds.
Smoking is strictly prohibited within the hospital grounds by law. Any offenders will be fined.
For a safe and pleasant stay at the NHCS, we would greatly appreciate it if you would observe the following precautions.
During your stay with us, our team of healthcare professionals will look after you. Here are some of the staff whom you may encounter during your stay here.
Specialist (Registrar/Associate Consultant/Senior Consultant)
They are our specialist doctors who possess postgraduate qualifications in the field of cardiology or cardiothoracic surgery.
Medical Officer
They are our qualified doctors who assist the specialist doctors and senior doctors in their clinical work.
Senior Nurse Manager/Nurse Manager
They are senior nurses who supervise the wards or clinics. They wear a pastel pink uniform with a pink striped trimming at the front neckline.
Senior Staff Nurse/Staff Nurse
They are qualified nurses who provide nursing care and treatments for you. Their off-white uniforms have a pink striped trimming at the front neckline.
Enrolled Nurse (EN)
They assist the staff nurses in providing nursing care. Their off-white uniforms have a pink striped trimming at the sleeves.
Your doctor will inform you when you are certified fit for discharge. It is advisable that you make arrangements with a family member or friend to accompany you home on the day of discharge.
A discharge summary will be given to you before you leave the ward. If you need a medical certificate, please inform the doctor or nurse in advance so that it can be prepared before you leave. If medication is needed, it will be dispensed to you at your bedside.
The check-out time is at 1.00 pm. Additional ward charges will be levied if you stay beyond the check-out time. However, if you need to wait for someone to take you home, you can wait at the Ward’s Day Room at no additional charge.
Once your discharge is confirmed, the Ward Clerk will arrange a date for your follow-up appointment (if any). The ward nurse will give you your discharge summary (diagnosis and treatment of your medical condition), medical certificate (MC) and educational pamphlets on the continuation of care at home. Should you need to reschedule your outpatient appointment, please call our NHCS Call Centre at Tel: (65) 6704 2000 or email is at central.appt@nhcs.com.sg.
Upon discharge, you can request for a copy of the interim bill from our Business Office staff. Your final hospital bill will be sent to you by mail.
You can also pay your bills online. Our online payment service provides you with greater flexibility and convenience in paying your medical bills using VISA or MasterCard credit card. Click here to pay online.
You can settle your bills by mail or in person at the following locations:
For international patients, we request that you settle the hospital bill before leaving the hospital.
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the updates to your email inbox...
