AUTHOR=Lam Sean Shao Wei , Pourghaderi Ahmad Reza , Abdullah Hairil Rizal , Nguyen Francis Ngoc Hoang Long , Siddiqui Fahad Javaid , Ansah John Pastor , Low Jenny G. , Matchar David Bruce , Ong Marcus Eng Hock TITLE=An Agile Systems Modeling Framework for Bed Resource Planning During COVID-19 Pandemic in Singapore JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.714092 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.714092 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on health systems globally. The sufficiency of hospitals' bed resource is a cornerstone for access to care which can significantly impact the public health outcomes.

Objective

We describe the development of a dynamic simulation framework to support agile resource planning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore.

Materials and Methods

The study data were derived from the Singapore General Hospital and public domain sources over the period from 1 January 2020 till 31 May 2020 covering the period when the initial outbreak and surge of COVID-19 cases in Singapore happened. The simulation models and its variants take into consideration the dynamic evolution of the pandemic and the rapidly evolving policies and processes in Singapore.

Results

The models were calibrated against historical data for the Singapore COVID-19 situation. Several variants of the resource planning model were rapidly developed to adapt to the fast-changing COVID-19 situation in Singapore.

Conclusion

The agility in adaptable models and robust collaborative management structure enabled the quick deployment of human and capital resources to sustain the high level of health services delivery during the COVID-19 surge.