Ouch .... kena ..... one more time, what's next

[Scb11980]

..Electricity tariffs will increase by 4.3 per cent from April to June this year as higher fuel prices have resulted in higher power generation costs, said SP Services.

 

Electricity tariff of households will increase 1.19 cents per kWh from 27.59 to 28.78 cents per kWh. This means that the average monthly electricity bill for families living in four-room HDB flats will increase by $4.18.

 

The average fuel oil price over the last three months between 1 January and 15 March increased from $127.07 to $135.37 per barrel

[Scb11980]

when the fuel prices drop

how come electric tariffs never come down

strange

[KARTer]

when the fuel prices drop

how come electric tariffs never come down

strange

Does the sun rise from the west?

[Scb11980]

Another OUCH moment

 

 

 

 

 

Hard for ageing siblings to care for mum

 

31 March 2012

Straits Times

MY MOTHER is 90 years old and has been ill since April 1993. She suffers from severe osteoporosis, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and, lately, severe bleeding from stomach ulcers.

 

For 15 years, my siblings and I have been paying her medical bills, which add up to a significant sum. My mother has no income, no inheritance and no insurance. All she has are her six children, who give her an allowance every month to ensure that she leads a meaningful life without being placed in a home.

 

Our repeated efforts to seek government assistance have failed. For instance, our application for assistance for an expensive bone-growth drug called Forteo in April 2007 was turned down.

 

At the end of the following year, we sought assistance to pay her hospital charges. This was rejected as well.

 

Nonetheless, I have the highest praise for Changi General Hospital's doctors, nurses, and pharmaceutical and administrative staff, from the top officer to the lowest-level staff.

 

In our most recent application for Medifund last month, I again highlighted that my siblings and I are now retired and find it increasingly difficult to maintain our mother's medical and daily expenses. My monthly annuity payment of $400 goes entirely to my mother. My sister's contribution is just as stiff.

 

While I am pleased that the authorities are considering our application for financial aid somewhat differently this time, I am still left wondering why they have chosen to reject some form of assistance for recent expenses.

 

Although we are deeply grateful that they are now considering some future subsidy, we wonder if help could have been rendered earlier when we sought, and needed, it.

 

Patrick Low

 

 

[Scb11980]

 

Another OUCH moment

 

shifting to private

why were there no increase in public hospital beds for ten years but population increased by nearly 1.5million (or two million) over the same people

 

 

 

Business Times - 31 Mar 2012

 

CGH to use Parkway East ward

 

By NISHA RAMCHANDANI

 

TO COPE with the high demand for hospital beds in the public healthcare sector, Changi General Hospital (CGH) will manage 30 beds in Parkway East Hospital from the second quarter of 2012, as part of an agreement signed between the Ministry of Health and Parkway Pantai last week.

 

CGH patients with stable acute medical conditions will be admitted to the 30-bed Parkway East ward - a mix of single rooms, double rooms and a multiple-bed room - which will be managed by CGH nurses, doctors and allied health professionals. However, patients will still pay the same hospital fees as they would at CGH, with subsidised patients receiving their subsidies according to their admitted ward class.

 

Once discharged, these patients will go back to CGH for their follow-up treatments.

 

'We've taken great care to assure patients of a consistent level of care after their transfer to Parkway East,' said Assoc Prof Low Cheng Ooi, CGH's chairman of the medical board. 'Only patients who are in a stable condition, such as those who require short-term rehabilitation, will be considered for transfer. All of these patients' conditions will be continually reviewed and followed up on by the CGH medical team.'

 

The 790-bed CGH has the busiest Emergency Department in Singapore, while Parkway East (formerly East Shore Hospital) is a 113-bed private general acute care hospital.

 

Dr Tan See Leng, group chief executive officer and managing director of Parkway Pantai, said: 'Parkway Pantai Group has always been supportive of the MOH's policies and we look forward to playing a greater role in public-private partnership.'

 

'Overall, we are adapting our operations to improve efficiency and manage the number of patients we handle,' Assoc Prof Low added. 'CGH has started new facilities, expanded existing ones, and improved workflow to speed up the treatment process.'

 

Other initiatives by CGH include implementing a nine-bed, short-stay unit at the A&E, as well as boosting its observation ward from 12 beds to 20 beds.

 

Meanwhile, it is also building a 250-bed integrated building between CGH and St Andrew's Community Hospital, with the facility expected to come onstream in 2014.

 

 

[Edwardthy]

Moral of the story - Unleash the full power in upcoming GE 2016.