New ambulance traffic priority system for life-threatening cases activated 76 times in three months

SINGAPORE: A new ambulance traffic priority system was activated 76 times during life-threatening emergencies for three routes near Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) over a three-month period.
It reduced the time taken to send the patients to the hospital by an average of 1 minute and 40 seconds, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a press release on Saturday (Nov 23).
This was according to data collected from Jul 15 to Oct 15 during the first phase of implementation.
The system, which was co-developed by the SCDF, Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Home Team Science and Technology Agency, uses an in-vehicle device to “activate priority passage” for ambulances at traffic junctions near hospitals.
Phase one of the system’s implementation involved two ambulances operating from Jurong Fire Station and one from Bukit Batok Fire Station.
“The implementation of phase 1 of the traffic priority system has shown encouraging results, where there was an observable reduction in the time needed to convey patients with life-threatening emergencies to the hospital,” said SCDF chief medical officer Hong Dehan.
“Every second saved can be the difference between life and death, particularly for cases of cardiac arrest, trauma or stroke. This capability will allow us to save valuable time by enabling faster conveyance of patients to the hospital, potentially improving patient outcomes and their chances of survival.”
The traffic priority system, which was announced during the SCDF’s Workplan Seminar earlier this year, is for emergency ambulances that are within the “final mile” when taking a patient to a hospital. 
Designated traffic junctions near hospitals are installed with roadside equipment – used to send and receive messages from nearby vehicles – that is linked to the traffic light controller.
When an ambulance is within 200m of these junctions, its on-board device will be activated. The equipment will then trigger the traffic lights in favour of the ambulance.
When the traffic priority system is activated, the affected traffic light junctions will still proceed as usual with the normal sequence of lights, but with specific phases becoming shorter.
It will be used only in life-threatening cases, said SCDF.
During the first phase, roadside equipment was installed in the vicinity of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, which lies within the “response boundary” of the two fire stations.
Paramedics said the traffic priority system is important in life-threatening emergencies.
For paramedic Sharon Tan, the system proved its worth during a case in September, when a woman in her 50s suffered a cardiac arrest.
The unconscious woman was sent from a Jurong West void deck to the hospital in about six minutes – quicker than the usual time for that route.
“I find that the (traffic priority system) is quite beneficial in terms of pre-hospital care,” explained SGT3 Tan. “It allows us to reach the hospital as fast as possible. Every second matters for these kinds of cases, especially when it involves an organ like the heart.”
Upon arriving at the hospital, the unconscious woman regained her pulse.
Prior to phase 1, trials were conducted at traffic junctions near NTFGH and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, which indicated time savings of “about 30 to 100 seconds per conveyance”.
In the second phase, on-board devices will be installed for all other SCDF ambulances.
Coverage will also be extended to three more hospitals – Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Changi General Hospital and National University Hospital. This is scheduled for completion by the second quarter of 2025.
The final phase will include all remaining public hospitals by the fourth quarter of next year.
By 2026, the traffic priority system is expected to be fully rolled out. This will involve outfitting all SCDF emergency ambulances and 47 traffic junctions serving all nine public hospitals.