Singapore’s first 24-hour emergency medicine unit gets new home

The Straits Times documents how Singapore General Hospital’s new emergency department got up and running from July 2024 until its relocation in January 2026.

On Jan 18, the lights at Singapore General Hospital’s (SGH) emergency department in Block 1, which had not been switched off in almost 50 years, went out one by one.

But the doctors, nurses, ​radiographers and other support staff in the department barely stopped working as they moved to their new home base – the SGH Emergency/National Neuroscience Institute (EM/NNI) building at 1 Hospital Boulevard, just a minute’s walk away.

At 6.44am, the “Emergency” sign box in front of the old emergency department was taken down. Together, Associate Professor Kenneth Tan, head and senior consultant from the Department of Emergency Medicine, and senior nurse manager Shashi Chandra Segaram carried it to the new building.

The proceedings were initially planned to be a symbolic walk by eight nurses, a nurse manager and Prof Tan, before the start of the first shift at 7am at the new emergency department.But a big group of over 150 enthusiastic people, including staff from other departments, soon joined in, walking in solidarity with them.

Senior nurse manager Shashi Chandra Segaram and senior consultant from the Department of Emergency Medicine Kenneth Tan carrying the “Emergency” sign box from its old home at SGH’s Block 1 to its new location on Jan 18, 2026.

At the new department, Prof Tan gave the staff a short briefing.

Senior consultant from the Department of Emergency Medicine Kenneth Tan speaking to his staff in the new SGH EM/NNI building on Jan 18, 2026.

Several members of the hospital’s senior management witnessed the transition. Then it was back to business as usual for the staff, albeit in a new environment.

At 8.31am, the EM/NNI building received its first ambulance case.

The first ambulance arriving in the new emergency department in the new SGH EM/NNI building at 8.31am on Jan 18, 2026.

The patient had a fever, symptoms of sepsis, required oxygen supplementation and was managed in the resuscitation room.

The patient from the first ambulance arriving in the new emergency department being transferred at the resuscitation area in the new SGH EM/NNI building at 8.33am on Jan 18, 2026.

Medical staff at the emergency department of the EM/NNI building treating their first ambulance case at 8.46am on Jan 18.

The new emergency department saw 216 patients that first day.

Patients waiting in front of the triage area in the newly relocated emergency department at 10.03am on Jan 18, 2026, the first day of operations in the new building.

Medical staff attending to a patient taking X-ray in the critical care area of the emergency department in the new SGH EM/NNI building on Jan 18, 2026.

Associate Professor Evelyn Wong, senior consultant from the Department of Emergency Medicine, was the person who switched off the lights at the old department.

“There is some nostalgia (for me) since I have been working here for almost 30 years. I remember delivering a number of babies and doing many procedures, treating so many patients and teaching so many medical students and residents and other learners,” said Prof Wong, who joined the department in 1997 as a registrar.

(From left) Dr Arjun Thompson, associate consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine; Dr Aliviya Dutta, staff physician, Department of Emergency Medicine; Dr Marcus Lee, consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine; Associate Professor Evelyn Wong, senior consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine; walking from the old emergency department to the new emergency department in the new SGH EM/NNI building on Jan 18, 2026.

“We were the last team who saw the last patients before moving over to the new building. We were crossing the crosswalk towards the new building after the closure of the old building to continue our work in the new building, because our work is never done. It is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. And we were the last people walking into the new era.” said Associate Professor Evelyn Wong.

Dr Jean Lee, senior consultant at the Department of Emergency Medicine, taking a selfie on Jan 17 at the porch of Block 1. Dr Lee said she is “looking forward to the potential that the much bigger space can offer”.

Assistant nurse clinician Muhammad Hanafi Mohd Ali, 35, packing medical supplies at the old emergency department at Block 1 of Singapore General Hospital on Jan 17, 2026.

Mr Muhammad Hanafi Mohd Ali  transferring the medical supplies to the new emergency department’s resuscitation area of the SGH EM/NNI building on Jan 17, 2026.

SGH, which traces its origins to a small wooden shed established in 1821 for British troops, started its emergency services as a “Casualty and Outpatient Service” in 1948.

This evolved into the first 24-hour emergency unit in Singapore by 1964, before the hospital opened the emergency department at Block 1 in 1977.

The new SGH EM/NNI building (top left) and Singapore General Hospital as viewed from National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) on July 15, 2025.

“The EM/NNI building is designed to enhance SGH’s capability to handle complex and urgent medical conditions,” said Prof Tan.

“Ensuring patients get timely access to care at the emergency department remains a top priority. The new EM/NNI Building is strategically designed to ease congestion and accommodate projected future needs.” 

Staff working inside the pharmacy at level 1 within the SGH EM/NNI building, which features an automated storage and retrieval system. Medications are stored in compact, space-efficient shelving, and retrieved quickly and accurately through barcode scanning and robotic system when prescriptions are filled.

At around 14,000 sq m over three floors, equivalent in size to about two football fields, the new emergency department is more than six times bigger than the old one. 

Planning for the relocation and expansion of the department started more than a decade ago, as early as 2015, involving hundreds of staff.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the EM/NNI building took place on April 3, 2018, and the facility was expected to be ready by 2023. Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, delaying the new emergency department’s operational date to January 2026. 

The Straits Times spent 18 months documenting how staff prepared for the relocation and tested the new building’s facilities from July 2024 until the emergency department became operational in January.

The new emergency department has 10 triage rooms, up from four at the previous location, and 12 resuscitation/trauma rooms, an upgrade from the resuscitation area for six patients in the old emergency department.

Medical staff working inside the critical care area of the emergency department in the new SGH EM/NNI building on Jan 18, 2026.

The current capacity is 53 patients in the critical care area. In addition, there are 26 observation cubicles that can accommodate up to 55 beds in total, when required. In contrast, the old emergency department could care for only 15 patients at a time in the critical care area and its observation area had a capacity for 37 patients. 

An information screen at the bedside of a patient in ward 87 during a full-dress rehearsal for phase 1 of the opening of the SGH EM/NNI building on Nov 25, 2024. This solution replaces the manual patient information boards installed at inpatient bedheads with digital ones, giving healthcare providers quicker access to essential patient information.

In the early morning of July 14, 2024, a 3,700kg magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) magnet, equivalent to the weight of two to three cars, was hoisted up by a lorry crane and transferred to the new MRI room through an opening on the fifth floor of the building.

The 3,700kg main magnet of the magnetic resonance imaging machine being hoisted up to the fifth floor of the new building after midnight on July 14, 2024.

Mr Liang Dianhui, 42, senior manager of facilities management and engineering at SGH, said: “Strong winds could cause the magnet to sway during hoisting, so if there was rain or lightning, the hoisting would have to stop or even be postponed.”

Workers trying to move the main magnet of the MRI machine into the fifth floor through a hole in the new SGH EM/NNI building after midnight on July 14, 2024.

That MRI machine in the new emergency building is one of 10 in SGH.

Radiographer Chong Yong Quan helping to position a “patient” on the MRI machine as part of a training session on Dec 13, 2024.

A feature in the new MRI machine provides an immersive experience for patients using a projector that casts calming visuals in the room.

There are many scene options, including pandas feeding on bamboo, sea life in the ocean, hot air balloon journeys, and classic oil paintings.

Principal radiographer Eddie Soh said: “The visuals help patients relax almost immediately, reduce feelings of claustrophobia, and give them something clear and comforting to focus on. Many feel less intimidated by the scanner, perceive the scan as shorter, and feel more confident and at ease throughout the procedure.”

Radiographers monitoring the screens showing the MRI results and patient’s reactions to the visual stimulation during MRI training for radiographers in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) room on level five of the new SGH EM/NNI building on Dec 13, 2024.

A public security ground deployment exercise was conducted at the new building on Nov 9, 2024.

Ground Response Force (GRF) officers securing the lobby of the SGH EM/NNI building, while SCDF paramedics attend to casualties during a public security ground deployment exercise on Nov 9, 2024.

More than 140 officers and staff from the Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force and SGH were involved. It was the first inter-agency public security exercise held at SGH where scenarios such as a gunman attack were played out.

Emergency Response Team (ERT) officers surrounding the car where the gunman was hiding during the public security ground deployment exercise at the new building on Nov 9, 2024.

A “casualty” of the exercise, a one-legged manikin lying on the floor in the new building lobby on Nov 9, 2024.

The new Hospital Decontamination Station (HDS) on Level 3 of the new building has tripled its previous capacity.

SGH Campus staff who had been nominated or had volunteered to be part of the Hospital Decontamination Station (HDS) team putting on HDS suits during training at the HDS Coordination Centre (HCC), located on level 3 of the new SGH EM/NNI building, on Feb 20, 2025.

HDS plays a vital role in the hospital’s civil emergency contingency plan to decontaminate casualties in the event of a civil emergency or mass casualty incident due to possible exposure to hazardous materials.

SGH Campus staff using a manikin to practise hands-on decontamination as a team at Hospital Decontamination Station (HDS) platform during training at level 3 of the new SGH EM/NNI building on Feb 20, 2025.

Once it is fully set up, SGH can decontaminate slightly over 100 casualties per hour with eight washing bays.

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) Campus staff participating in a Hospital Decontamination Station (HDS) training exercise at the new SGH EM/NNI building on Feb 20, 2025. The training involves the post-decontamination transfer of a manikin from a stretcher to a patient bed trolley.

SGH Campus staff doing personal self-decontamination after performing hands-on decontamination on a casualty during Hospital Decontamination Station (HDS) training at level 3 of the new SGH EM/NNI building on Feb 20, 2025. 

Ms Flora Ang, senior assistant manager from specialist outpatient clinic-operations, getting help to remove her HDS suit during training at level 3 of the new SGH Emergency/NNI Building on Feb 20, 2025.

Between September 2024 and January 2026, five full-dress rehearsals were conducted for operations in the new emergency building. 

A patient complaining of chest pain having his X-ray taken at the critical care area on Level 3 during Emergency Department Combined Full-Dress Rehearsal 1 involving staff from ED and other departments, at the new SGH EM/NNI building on Oct 31, 2025.

Different scenarios and their protocols – such as code grey for staff abuse, code blue for emergency cases, patient transfer via ambulances, patient transfer to and from SGH – were tested.  

During the Emergency Department (ED) Combined Full-Dress Rehearsal, enrolled nurse E. Arachchige Udulee Wathsala Indeewaree Amarasekaraa performing resuscitation on a “patient” who displayed signs of acute pulmonary edema, in the isolation area on level 3 of the new SGH EM/NNI building on Oct 31, 2025.

The rehearsal “patient” being transferred by Senior Staff Nurse Naw Noreen and Dr Tang Shin Yee (foreground) to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) at Block 4 Level 5 of Singapore General Hospital after undergoing resuscitation on Oct 31, 2025.

Close to 200 SGH staff members taking on different roles such as participants, evaluators and observers were involved during each full-dress rehearsal. 

Senior Staff Nurse Rachel Lee Hui Yi (extreme right) is reviewing and preparing medications from the resuscitation trolley, ensuring correct drugs and dosages are ready for administration. She was part of a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals participating in a resuscitation simulation during a full-dress rehearsal on Nov 25, 2024.

Deputy Director Ong Jie Yi, who is in charge of operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine, said: “Full-dress rehearsals are conducted to validate workflows, systems, staff readiness, and inter-departmental coordination in the new environment, so that operational risks are identified and mitigated prior to live patient operations.”

Apart from the SGH Emergency Department, there are other facilities in the new 12-storey building, including the acute medical wards, Neuroscience Clinic, and NNI’s Neuro-Diagnostic & Therapeutic Centre.

Madam Ma Than Tin d/o Maung Maung, 83, a retiree, in a consultation with Dr Yong Kok Pin, senior consultant, Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, and Madam Wang Soo San, patient service associate executive, inside the Neuroscience Clinic (SGH) on the first day of operations at the new SGH EM/NNI building on Jan 5, 2026.

Professor Anantharaman Venkataraman, 74, a senior consultant, is one of the longest-serving staff members at SGH’s emergency department where he has worked for 48 years.

He said: “Just before the relocation, we were very concerned that the dispersion of acute patient care areas over three clinical floors, rather than all being on the same floor, would lead to many clinical care issues.

"Credit should be given to the nurses and doctors who have worked very hard to ensure that this did not occur. The relocation has also relieved the sensation of overcrowding we felt daily in the old emergency department.”

There were 13 nurses among the last batch to work at the old emergency department – from 7am to 4pm – as the rest of their colleagues moved to the new place.

Dr Aliviya Dutta, staff physician, Department of Emergency Medicine, SGH, working in the old emergency department before the last few patients were transferred out on Jan 18, 2026.

They had to help move the remaining patients to the wards and do a final sweep of the area, transferring equipment and tidying up the place, which has since been repurposed as inpatient wards.  

Staff Nurse Gao Ming moving an empty patient trolley from an observation room in the old emergency department to the trolley parking bay to clear the room at 9:38am on Jan 18, 2026.

Staff Nurse Hwu Yu Tong working the last shift in the old emergency department, packing medical supplies at 9.47am on Jan 18, 2026.

The final patient being transferred from the old emergency department at Singapore General Hospital at 10:39am on Jan 18, 2026. Staff Nurse Patricia Kim Go Lumarian was escorting a renal patient experiencing palpitations and hypertension to the inpatient ward.

The last batch of nurses working at the old emergency department – from 7am to 4pm – as the rest of their colleagues moved to the new place, taking a group photograph on Jan 18, 2026. They had to help move the remaining patients to the wards and do a final sweep of the area, transferring equipment and tidying up the place, which has since been repurposed as inpatient wards.

Nurse clinician Muqtasidatum Mustaffa, 45, who started her 24-year nursing career with the department, was one of the 13 nurses.

“For many of us, the ED (emergency department) is not just a workplace – it is where we were born and bred as emergency nurses,” she said.

“I still remember those early days, when we were shaped by the super garang (fearless) senior staff nurses, who were firm and uncompromising when it came to standards. They taught us not just how to work fast, but also how to think fast, stay calm, and stand our ground when lives were on the line. It was tough love, but it built us.”

SGH staff taking a group photograph with the old Emergency sign box at 6.33am in front of the old emergency department at Block 1 before the relocation to the new SGH EM/NNI building at 7am on Jan 18, 2026.

Mr Mohammad Azhar Ismail, 41, was taken to the new emergency department in March and diagnosed with a bacterial infection on his leg. “I have been to the old ED and it was quite small. I like that the new ED is bigger and brighter than the old place,” he said.

“The only thing that needs improvement is the food – more food options for caregivers and patients.”

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.