Reducing Home Care Services ad-hoc consumables request by at least 80%
Care Process & Redesign
Singapore Healthcare Management Congress
Agency for Integrated Care - Intermediate and Long Term Care
11 February 2026
Cut ad-hoc requests by 80% to enhance inventory efficiency and patient care. Thanks to enhanced coordination and streamlined processes, our new process now ensures that staff always have the tools they.
Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 11 February 2026
Tags: Care Process ＆ Redesign, Workflow Redesign, Operational Management, Inventory Management, Procurement, Time Saving, Productivity, Quality Improvement
About this Content
Aims
Cut ad-hoc requests by 80% to enhance inventory efficiency and patient care.
Background
St. Andrews Community Hospital (SACH) is a service under the St. Andrews Mission Hospital group. In addition to inpatient rehabilitation, subacute and palliative care, SACH also operates home care and home palliative care; centre-based day and rehabilitative care; and outpatient and migrant worker clinic. In the eastern region, the ageing population has led to a higher demand for Home Care Services (HCS), increasing both the workload and the usage of medical consumables.
Methods
The following interventions were carried out to improve the processes: 3 causes were selected to make changes.
Results
After CSD assumed the ordering role, HCS staff saved 30 minutes weekly, while CSD's workload increased by 5 minutes. Achieved 100% reduction of Ad-hoc Requests for the first 4 weeks. Visual checks are performed during weekly top-ups. Monitoring of Usage (data from system) is carried out. Quarterly review of Reorder Point (to adjust if needed) is carried out.
Conclusion
Thanks to enhanced coordination and streamlined processes, our new process now ensures that staff always have the tools they needwhether its inventory for home visits or essential patient-care items. The support team handles procurement and stock management, enabling frontline personnel to focus entirely on delivering top-quality patient care.
Lessons Learnt
Enhanced coordination and streamlined processes are crucial for ensuring staff have the necessary tools and enabling frontline personnel to focus on patient care.
Keywords
Home Care, Inventory, Consumables, Efficiency, Patient Care
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | Agency for Integrated Care - Intermediate and Long Term Care |
Organization(s) Involved | St. Andrews Community Hospital |
Platform(s) | Singapore Healthcare Management Congress |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Healthcare Administration |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Palliative Medicine |
Project Lead(s) | Kelvin Chen |
Project Member(s) | Ong Seok Peng |
Connect with this contributor!
Kelvin Chen - singaporehealthcaremanagement@singhealth.com.sg
Project Attachment
65_SACH_SHM_2025_Reducing_Home_Care_Services_ad_hoc_consumables_request_by_at_least_80.pdf