While family doctors play an important role by serving as the first point-of-contact for the acute, chronic and emergency care needs of their patients, the 3 Regional Health Systems (RHS): the National Healthcare Group (NHG), the National University Health System (NUHS) and Singapore Health Services (SHS) serve as regional health managers to care for the health of the residents living within their respective regions.

Each RHS will deliver integrated, seamless care for approximately 1.5 million residents and coordinate services provided by family doctors and other health and social care partners, guide the development of referral pathways and cater to the health and social needs of residents, ensuring that residents remain healthy across different stages of life. 

Services provided by RHSes which family doctors may find useful to refer their patients to include the following:

Community Health Teams/Community Care Teams

These RHS teams, comprising of community nurses, care coordinators, health coaches and allied health professionals are sited at various touchpoints in residential areas to provide residents with easy access to basic health services close to their homes.  These services can be particularly useful for patients requiring transitional care following a stay at one of the acute hospitals.

Services provided by these Community Health Teams/Community Care Teams include the following

• Geriatric care and home safety assessments

• Caregiver training, education and support

• Case management and coordination

• Fall prevention, screening and education

GPFirst

GPFirst aims to encourage patients to visit their GP first instead of going to the emergency department if they are experiencing mild to moderate / non-emergency conditions so they can be cared for more promptly. This will also allow emergency care teams to focus on urgent cases such as heart attacks and strokes. Refer to the GPFirst care protocol.

 
Weight Management Programmes – refer to the Body Mass Index Control Care Protocol.

Cancer Screening services and support – refer to the Cancer Screening Care Protocol for information on mammograms and follow-up on abnormal screening results at RHSes.