Strengthening Emergency Preparedness at JHC
A safe, resilient campus does not happen by chance — it is built through practice, coordination, and the collective readiness of every staff member. Over the past months, JHC has continued to strengthen our preparedness for a range of emergency scenarios, including civil emergencies and potential disease outbreaks. These exercises were planned and coordinated by our colleagues from Emergency Planning, who work behind the scenes to ensure that our systems, processes and people are ready should a real crisis arise.
Let’s look back at the key exercises conducted this year that strengthened staff readiness and reinforced our overall emergency preparedness.
Our first full physical exercise since the COVID-19 pandemic marked an important step in rebuilding preparedness momentum. Conducted in a controlled environment, the session allowed teams to familiarise themselves with essential procedures, practise safe donning and doffing of decontamination suits and PPE, and rehearse the decontamination workflow from start to end.
The focus was simple but vital: restore confidence and coordination after years of scaled-down Civil Emergency (Ops CE) readiness activities.
A tabletop exercise based on a scenario involving multiple explosions at a mall in Jurong East was conducted, during which our Emergency Department (ED) activated their Ops CE response plan. The exercise incorporated lessons learnt from previous exercises at other institutions, including those at Tan Tock Seng General Hospital, Sengkang General Hospital and our own exercise in 2018. It also provided an opportunity to review and strengthen ED workflows, as well as the workflows of supporting departments involved in managing a mass-casualty incident.
Using MOH's Best Practice Guidelines for Mass Casualty Incident response, ED achieved a score of 94%, meeting the criteria for State of Readiness (SOR) 1 and surpassing the target of SOR 2 (80%).
The scenario simulated a chemical spill resulting in a high number of affected individuals and required rapid activation of hospital resources to for up to 200 casualties.
The exercise tested our manpower activation framework, senior management involvement, and staff responsiveness to emergency triggers. It also evaluated the effectiveness of key communication channels such as Microsoft Teams, SMS systems and departmental call trees.
The drill saw an excellent level of responsiveness, with a strong overall activation rate and performance that met the highest readiness standards.
Designed to strengthen readiness for a sudden surge of injured children during a major incident, this exercise helped staff familiarise themselves with paediatric clinical workflows and reinforced collaboration between the care teams.
The scenario involved a child needing urgent assessment, surgery and intensive care after a school-related incident. This allowed teams to practise the full care journey and ensure smooth coordination across departments, further enhancing JHC’s preparedness for complex paediatric emergencies.
This exercise simulated a febrile patient with relevant travel history being identified at self-registration as a suspected infectious case. It tested the multi-departmental response from initial identification to transfer to the Fever Facility, Isolation Ward and eventual handover to NCID.
The drill assessed operational alignment with the updated HLIP workflow and ensured compliance with infection control requirements, including correct PPE use, specimen handling and environmental cleaning. Based on national standards for Viral Haemorrhagic Fever response, NTFGH achieved a score of 93%, meeting SOR 1 and surpassing the SOR 2 target.
Across all exercises, one message stands out: preparedness is a shared responsibility. Whether you work in clinical care, operations, administration or support services, your role contributes to our ability to respond swiftly and safely.
They help us:
-
Strengthen confidence and teamwork
-
Identify gaps before real emergencies occur
-
Maintain familiarity with essential workflows
-
Keep our patients and colleagues safe
-
Build a culture where readiness becomes second nature
As JHC continues to deepen our emergency preparedness efforts, staff can look forward to more training, refreshers and opportunities to participate in future drills. We encourage everyone to stay updated on departmental protocols, maintain readiness, and take each exercise as a chance to sharpen our skills.
Check out more photos here:
