SINGAPORE: The chopping noise from the rotors of a helicopter pounded louder as it made its way through clear skies towards the SAFTI Live Firing Area. The hostile aircraft was in Singapore airspace, posing a clear and immediate danger as it navigated its way over the rough terrain.

In a matter of seconds, personnel from the Ground-Based Air Defence (GBAD) units jumped into action and readied their missiles, anticipating an order to take down the suspicious aircraft.

That was the scenario played out on Wednesday (Jan 18), as part of Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) Flaming Arrow Challenge (FAC) 2017. It’s an annual cross-command competition involving GBAD units.

In this segment, various units are brought together to test their ability to neutralise aerial threats from fighter aircraft and helicopters.

A Super Puma helicopter simulating the suspicious aircraft in FAC 2017. (Photo: Xabryna Kek)

GBAD – part of the RSAF’s multi-layered air defence system – has to pre-empt threats and safeguard the country with surface-to-air missiles.

The SPYDER is a surface-to-air missile system capable of engaging a wide spectrum of aerial threats. (Photo: Xabryna Kek)

Speaking with the media on Wednesday, the commander of the Divisional Air Defence Group (DAG) Colonel Alvin Yeo said the FAC serves as another avenue for the RSAF to test out its skills and tactics in a competitive environment. “When you train in respective areas and in different settings, the scenario may not be as rich,” he said. 

“But if you have everyone together, there will be a lot of interactions and a lot more uncertainty in the whole scenario building. So, this adds some complexity as well as a more operationally challenging environment for them.”

An RBS-70 GBAD system mounted on a camouflaged V200 armoured vehicle. (Photo: Xabryna Kek)

Senior Minister of State for Defence Maliki Osman visited the SAFTI Live Firing Area on Wednesday morning, where he witnessed the operations conducted by the GBAD units. He also gained first-hand experience of the execution of flight manoeuvres to evade surface-to-land missiles on board a Super Puma helicopter.

Senior Minister of State for Defence Maliki Osman trying out the RBS 70 Missile System at the SAFTI Live Firing Area on Wednesday. (Photo: Xabryna Kek)

FAC was first introduced in 2014, as part of the annual RSAF Command Challenges. It includes six other competitions.

Col Yeo also said that in recent years, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have been introduced to make FAC more challenging. For instance, the UAVs will be up in the air and flying over the training area to identify the firing units deployed. Points will be awarded to the GBAD if the UAVs are unable to do so, he added.

“We will try to fine tune the challenge year on year,” said Col Yeo. “Previously, there was not as much interaction and the UAV is an example of how every year we try to improve and make it more challenging.”

GBAD personnel readying their missiles and anticipating an order to take down the suspicious aircraft. (Photo: Xabryna Kek)

The RSAF added that its systems and people are constantly put to the test through realistic training and operations to ensure operational readiness, which is especially crucial given the current threat from terrorism. 

A total of 132 personnel are involved in FAC 2017, and about half of them are NSmen. 

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) will reorganise the healthcare system into three integrated clusters, from the existing six regional health systems.

In a media release on Wednesday (Jan 18), MOH said this will better meet Singaporeans’ future healthcare needs.

“Over the last few years, MOH has significantly improved the accessibility, affordability and quality of healthcare in Singapore under our Healthcare 2020 Masterplan,” said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong. “Nevertheless, we cannot afford to stay still as there remain many challenges ahead such as our ageing population, increased chronic disease burden and the need to manage future growth in healthcare manpower and spending.”

“This reorganisation of the public healthcare clusters will enable us to meet our future healthcare challenges. I am confident that we will be able to better optimise resources and capabilities, and provide more comprehensive and patient-centred care to meet Singaporeans’ evolving needs,” he added. 

FROM SIX TO THREE; POLYCLINICS ALSO TO BE REORGANISED

Singapore’s public healthcare system is currently organised into six regional health systems: Alexandra Health System, Eastern Health Alliance, Jurong Health Services, National Healthcare Group, National University Health System and Singapore Health Services.

With the reorganisation, the six regional health systems will be merged into the following three clusters:

– In the Central region, the National Healthcare Group and Alexandra Health System will form one cluster, to be known as the National Healthcare Group (NHG). It will be headed by current NHG Group CEO Professor Philip Choo.

– In the Eastern region, the Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) and the Eastern Health Alliance will form a second cluster under SingHealth, headed by current SingHealth Group CEO Professor Ivy Ng.

– In the Western region, the National University Health System (NUHS) will merge with Jurong Health Services to form the third cluster, to be named NUHS. It will be headed by current NUHS Group CEO Professor John Wong.

In line with the three new clusters, the polyclinics will also be re-organised into three groups: NHG Polyclinics, SingHealth Polyclinics and the new National University Polyclinics. This is up from the current two groups.

The exercise will entail some transfers of polyclinics across groups. For example, Bukit Batok, Choa Chu Kang, Clementi and Jurong polyclinics will be moved from NHG to NUHS. Geylang Polyclinic will be moved from SingHealth to NHG, while Queenstown Polyclinic will be moved from SingHealth to NUHS.

National Specialty Centres and specialised hospitals like the Institute of Mental Health and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital will remain with their existing clusters.

The reorganisation is expected to be completed by early 2018, said MOH.

POSITIONING SINGAPORE FOR THE FUTURE

“The current system works quite well, and the clusters have done a good job catalysing initial care transformation efforts,” said Dr Lee Chien Earn, Group CEO of Eastern Health Alliance. “However, the changes announced by MOH are meant to position us for the future, as our challenges are long-term ones.”

For example, MOH said that primary care, which is offered by polyclinics and general practitioners, will play an increasingly critical role in providing patient-centred care in the community.

“With the reorganisation, each cluster will bring together the capabilities of their polyclinics and partnering GPs, as well as community service providers to drive primary care transformation and anchor care in the community as a collective force,” it said. With all three of the new clusters having primary care capabilities, this means that integration of care in instances like patient referrals will be streamlined.

The reorganisation will also enable the public healthcare institutions to deploy their resources and capabilities more efficiently, added MOH. This means that employees will get access to more and better career options and professional development opportunities.

Each merged cluster will, said MOH, have a fuller range of assets, capabilities, services and networks across different care settings. It can also draw from the combined strengths of its two original clusters.

PATIENT CARE WILL NOT BE AFFECTED; NO STAFF RETRENCHMENTS

In the transition, MOH reiterated that there will be no change to patient services. No action will be required of patients, which means there is no need for them to check if their appointments are still on. Fees will also not go up as a result of this reorganisation.

There will also be no disruption to any on-going healthcare infrastructure building projects.

As Singapore’s healthcare needs are still growing, there will be no retrenchments arising from the reorganisation, added MOH.

Disruption to staff will also be minimised. Almost everyone within the public healthcare sector will continue in their current roles, within their current teams, said MOH. While a small number may eventually be re-deployed, staff will be offered jobs that match their experience and skill sets without any changes to their current salaries. The clusters will consult with the union and staff on these changes, it added.

For one, Eastern Health Alliance’s Dr Lee said it has been progressively briefing leaders and staff in the organisation through one-on-one discussions, small group dialogues and town halls. It has also met SingHealth’s leadership to learn more about each other’s current work and future plans, and also to agree on key principles that will guide their work during and after the transition period. 

The Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) said it is confident it can “work closely with stakeholders to ensure that (its) workers will not be adversely affected by the terms and conditions of employment after the reorganisation”.

HSEU general secretary Diana Chia added that the union will continue to hold engagement sessions with its members to address their concerns and clarify queries regarding the change. The union will also continue to work with the relevant stakeholders to facilitate the transition of the affected healthcare workers, she said. 

SINGAPORE — With Chinese New Year falling on the last weekend of the month, January’s Car-Free Sunday will be brought forward to this Sunday (Jan 22), the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced on Wednesday (Jan 18).

A variety of recreational and community activities have been organised to coincide with the ongoing Chinese New Year celebrations in the Chinatown district.

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For instance, there will be a performance by the first lion dance troupe in Singapore, the Singapore Hok San Association. The public can also try their hand at playing the drums or learn some lion dance moves.

Singapore Cycling Federation and Cycosports will be organising a Share the Road Cycling Carnival between 6am and 7.30am. It will include a series of races between different cycling groups in Singapore, as well as a community ride at 7.30am around Robinson Road and Cecil Street, which will culminate with the official Car-Free Sunday SG flag off in front of the National Gallery Singapore at 8am.

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Also featured in this weekend’s edition is the popular trishaw service that will take visitors on a 15-minute tour of the Civic District. The Farmers’ Market at Esplanade Park will also be on, promising more stalls than the previous edition.

Visitors can also enjoy fitness activities such as yoga, Dodge-ball and Speedminton (a racquet sport combining badminton, squash and tennis), as well as musical performances by buskers and open microphone sessions.

As usual, road closures will take place on Sunday morning in the Civic District. Here are the list of roads that will be closed to traffic for Car-Free Sunday SG.

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For more information or updates on Car-Free Sunday SG, which usually falls on the last weekend of the month, visit https://www.facebook.com/carfreesundaysg/ or http://ura.sg/carfreesundaysg