Citation

Ng ZX, Teo LT, Go KTS, Yeo YT, Chiu MT. Ann. Acad. Med. Singapore 2010; 39(12): 920-927.

Affiliation

Trauma Services, Department of General Surgery, Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Academy of Medicine, Singapore)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

21274489

Abstract

Introduction: Major workplace related accidents pose a signifi cant healthcare resource challenge in Singapore. Materials and Methods: Our study looks at the epidemiology of patients who were admitted for workplace related accidents, in a single institution, with an Injury Severity Score of >9. Results: There were 196 cases of major workplace related accidents admitted between January 2006 and December 2007. The median age of patients admitted was 37 years with a large percentage being males (95.4%) and non-residents (57.1%). The most common ethnic group was Chinese (53.1%) followed by Indians (23.5%). The most common mechanism of injury was fall from height (66.3%) followed by injuries as a result of falling objects at work (21.9%). The percentage of patients who required surgical intervention was 69.9%. Patients admitted for major workplace related accidents had a median length of stay of 5 days in the hospital, a median length of 24 days of medical leave (ML), certifying them unfi t for duty and the average cost of stay for each patient was S$11,000. Conclusions: We have a better understanding of the epidemiology and socio-economic impact of workplace related accidents through this study. Workplace related accidents result in signifi cant number of man-days lost from work and monetary cost to employers, medical insurance and the hospital. With an improved understanding, we propose methods to prevent and reduce such accidents in future. A direct consequence of which will be the possible reduction of hospitalisation costs and better allocation of healthcare resources in the future.

Language: en