Annex B - Research Justification

Research Topic: Health in Singapore

Chosen Area of Focus: The Pros and Cons of the medical help of the patients from the Tan Tock Seng Hospital staff

1. Framing our research topic

Our chosen area of focus is “Medical Care in Singapore”. We have chosen this topic as there are always patients going in and out of the hospitals. Sometimes, patients or the families of the patients complain about how the staff are not efficient enough to cater to their patients. Sometimes, they also blame the staff for not being able to save their loved ones. However, some patients feel that what the staff has done is more than enough. So, what exactly is happening that makes different patients have different points of view?

1.  Possible reasons for patients to feel that what the staff is doing is insufficient are because the staff are not enough to be able to move from place to place quick enough to cater to the different patients.

1.    Advantages of the methods used by the hospital staff of catering to those who are more in need is that the patients can be treated quicker to reduce the risks of dying and this makes the patients or their family members feel good about their service in providing medical help to patients.

1. Sometimes, it just happens to be that the staff are tending to the patients whom they just pass by and the other staff are not free at the moment, causing patients who are in more of need unable to get help. This creates a two-sided problem, one side being pleased and the other not.

     
     1.  Certain patients may have high expectations of the medical care given to them, especially when Singapore is thought to have one of the best healthcare in the world. With this, there are more patients that will choose Singapore for their healthcare. This will only pressurize the staff of the hospitals in Singapore as there is a bigger need and desire to attend to the patients’ attention medically.

1. Reasons for choice of topic

1. We have chosen this topic, as we want to find out more about why the patients are unhappy with their services.
2. To find ways to improve medical care in hospitals so as to be able to allow the other patients to be pleased with.
3. To find out if the staff of Tan Tock Seng Hospital provides medical care and treatment up to expectations of the patients.
4. To find out whether the staff of Tan Tock Seng Hospital affects the accommodation of the patients.

1. Feasibility of the research

1. There is a need for our research, as there is a number of concern to the medical care in Singapore. Example, the cost, the number of staff in the hospital, the skillfulness of the staff, the amount of facilities present etc. Hence by doing this project, we can help improve the medical care in Singapore.
2. It is possible to carry out and complete the project, as there are patients in which that can provide primary information to us.
3. The proposed course of action is logical and realistic as it can be completed with the help of some patients by doing simple survey. We can also get the staff to fill in on how professional they are in their job like whether they have any degree or level of which they have completed their studies on the particular position.
4. The research provides sufficient opportunity for generation of ideas, as we will constantly have to think of ways to do certain things in the project. As for analysis and evaluation of ideas, we will certainly have many opportunities to analyse information and evaluate ideas on how to go about deciding what to do next.

1. Manageability of the research

1. The timeline for the different components of the project will be decided later based on the situation then. But overall, the project will be done as quickly and carefully as we can, trying our best not to go out of point and staying as close to the topic as possible.
2. This research provides sufficient opportunity for group work as we will need to discuss a lot of matters regarding the project, for example who will be assigned to do what component of the project and we will have to work together.
3. We do anticipate some difficulties along the way, such as poor communication among the group members and lack of data. We intend to cope with these difficulties by trying to get the group to go and upload their findings and their part of the project onto our document on the googlesite which will be made into a document that we will share

           to upload our things.

1. Accessibility of the information required

1. We will be obtaining first-hand and primary information from the patients from Tan Tock Seng Hospital through interviews that we can ask essential questions to them.
2. Other alternatives is that we can ask the family members of the patients. The patients could have complained or praise the staff to their family members. With that, they can provide us with information that the patients have commented on how they are medically treated.
3. Sometimes we are not able to get information from the Tan Tock Seng’s hospital authorities and the patients due to privacy reasons and disturbance. But with the huge number of patients 
4. at the hospital, there might at least be enough patients to interview to retrieve information from.