I think I've learnt quite a bit working in a healthcare setting. This month, we have ran 3 codes. You can say we had an eventful month alright!
In order not to scare our residents and visitors, we have codes for emergency situations. The three general codes are red, blue and green.
Code Red refers to fires, and we usually run this code twice a year for fire drill practice. We'll spend an hour prior on fire safety awareness and then a trial run the next day. To make things more realistic, we have "casualties" every time, even a fire truck last year!
Then we have Code Blue, which refers to medical emergencies. When this code is called, medical professionals run down the corridor like wind and social workers will head down to pacify the other residents/ visitors.
The Code Green seems like a safety precaution code, because it is the least common code to call. Oh, it means that a resident ran away from the institution. I know I know, we're not bounded by local laws to keep our residents here like a jail /destitute home/ delinquent home, so what's the big deal? It's not like we don't allow residents to go out; just that we prefer them to be accompanied by somebody so that their well-being is not compromised.
Anyways, was on my merry way to office (like ultra early!) and met my colleague (NUS intern) with a serious expression and a whisper of somebody ran off! Alighted the bus and already saw other colleagues brisk walked past. Walked further and saw more colleagues driving out the carpark.
The whole day was a nerve wrecking experience for us. Yes we did find him in the end. No, we didn't force him back with us.
& it got us thinking, how equipped really is the healthcare system in Singapore?