Singapore-founded house call doctor app Speedoc and private ambulance operator Comfort Ambulance announced a partnership that allows Speedoc users to hire Comfort’s fleet of 25 ambulances for transport to more than 100 healthcare institutions across Singapore directly through their app.

Since September 2018, Speedoc has been a participant of the Ministry of Health’s regulatory sandbox – Licensing Experimentation and Adaptation Programme (LEAP), which allows the safe development of new and innovative healthcare models to be piloted in a controlled environment.

HOW IT WORKS

Charges for booking an ambulance via the Speedoc app will range from S$120-S$170, depending on timing, location and day. Additional charges for services such as the use of oxygen therapy or stretchers will also be clearly listed in the app for users.

WHY IT MATTERS

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) announced that it will stop dispatching ambulances for non-emergencies from April 1 onward, so as to better focus on life-threatening cases. According to SCDF’s latest statistics, non-emergency and false alarm calls made up 9.6% (17,954 calls) of all emergency medical service (EMS) calls in 2018. This means that on average, SCDF responded to around 50 non-emergency and false alarm calls each day.

Users who need a private ambulance can now either contact over 20 operators individually or call the 1777 hotline, but waiting times can take as long as two hours compared with around 30 minutes with the app, according to Speedoc.

Speedoc is currently working with other ambulance operators to get more of them on board the app.