Since March, about 60 patients with lower back pain have received acupuncture at the unit. An initial analysis of 30 patients found their pain scores fell by more than 50 per cent on average after treatment, Ms Seah said.
Each session lasts about 45 minutes and is offered as a one-off treatment during the patient’s stay. Those who require further acupuncture can be referred to SGH’s outpatient clinic after discharge.
CGH has taken a similar approach. It has offered acupuncture at its emergency department short-stay unit since May 2022 for pain and acute symptom management. In January this year, acupuncture became part of the unit’s care protocol for patients with lower back pain.
FROM OUTPATIENT TO BEDSIDE
While acupuncture itself is not new to Singapore’s public hospitals, what is changing is its role within them.
SGH established its acupuncture unit in 1998, with lower back and neck pain making up the bulk of cases. Last year, they accounted for 49.6 per cent and 23.6 per cent of new patients seen by the hospital’s acupuncture service respectively, Ms Seah said.
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