HSA Launches 1st Fixed Satellite Blood Collection Centre Located in Woodlands

New blood collection centre is part of long term strategy to make blood donation more convenient and community-based

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) announced the launch of its first fixed satellite blood collection centre located at the Woodlands Civic Centre today. The new Bloodbank@Woodlands, which was officially opened by Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Minister for Health, is part of HSA's broader strategy to increase the number of fixed blood collection centres beyond the Bloodbank@HSA at Outram Road. These new fixed satellite blood collection centres will be easily accessible from most parts of Singapore and provide convenient places for donors to donate blood regularly. They will also be designed around the needs of residents to be community hubs for blood donation. To encourage blood donation as a part of the community's lifestyle, HSA will be working closely with the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) and grassroots organisations to develop programmes and activities to heighten awareness about this meaningful cause and make it relevant to residents.

Greater convenience to contribute to a life-saving cause

2      Offering a more casual, homely and comfortable atmosphere right in the heartlands, the new Bloodbank@Woodlands is conveniently located at Woodlands Civic Centre, and is easily accessible by Woodlands MRT station and bus interchange. Based on feedback from donors, the new blood collection site's operating hours will differ from the Bloodbank@HSA in order to cater to the needs of Woodlands residents. It will offer later closing hours on weekdays from 12pm to 8pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and be open on Saturdays (9am to 5pm) and Sundays (9am to 2pm). The centre will be closed on Tuesdays and Public Holidays.

3      “Blood donors have told us that having convenient and fixed blood donation locations are major factors that encourage them to donate blood regularly. We therefore chose to locate the Bloodbank@Woodlands at the centre of one of Singapore's larger satellite towns. We offer varied operating hours to allow donors to donate at times suitable for them. The design of the centre was also specially developed to create a pleasant and comfortable environment that residents can embrace as part of their community identity. We hope that this new addition to the Woodlands neighbourhood will soon become a common focal point for the community to come together to contribute to the life-saving cause of giving blood”, said Dr John Lim, CEO of HSA.

Encouraging blood donation as part of community life

4      The opening of the Bloodbank@Woodlands is also a key part of HSA's strategy to encourage blood donation as a part of the community's lifestyle. It will work closely with its service partner and the national blood recruiter SRC, to roll out more community-based donor engagement programmes tailored towards the population groups frequenting the areas around the vicinity of the new centre. There will also be activities organised to generate greater publicity to encourage more non-donors to contribute to the cause.

5      Said Mr Axel Chan, one of SRC's three Vice Chairmen, “The opening of the Bloodbank@Woodlands will provide convenience and enable more regular blood donations. This collection centre plays an important role in complementing the efforts and support of the Bloodmobile Organisers, who have been faithfully organising regular bloodmobiles in this community. With an additional collection site for blood donation, more donors, especially those who are residing in the north, will be able to come forward more readily to participate in this simple but yet meaningful act of saving lives."

6      Plans are already underway to work with the community to make the Bloodbank@Woodlands a knowledge and education hub on blood donation. The SRC will be piloting a new Volunteer Meet-and-Greet service at the new centre. Volunteers, the majority of whom are residents from the nearby area, will be onsite to provide information on blood donation and to assist donors during the donation process. Other key outreach activities in the pipeline include collaborating with grassroots organisations, companies, educational institutions and religious organisations in the area to organise centre bookings for their members and staff to donate blood as a group.

Plans to increase number of fixed sites over the next three years

7      The Bloodbank@HSA, which collects an average of 120 to 150 whole blood donations daily, is already running at full capacity. Fridays and Saturdays see the highest number of donors – up to 400 - coming forward to donate blood. As an alternative fixed blood collection site, the Bloodbank@Woodlands will possibly ease congestion and shorten waiting times for donors during peak periods at the main site at Outram Road. HSA targets to collect 50-100 units of blood per day from the Bloodbank@Woodlands. This will represent about 20% of the daily collection.

8      Although Singapore's national blood needs are currently met, demographic changes such as population growth and an aging population have resulted in an expansion of our healthcare facilities and demand for more advanced medical procedures. Collectively, these translate to a greater need for blood. Ten years ago, the blood bank collected only 60,000 units of blood a year. Today, blood collection needs to be almost doubled to sufficiently meet the transfusion needs of patients annually. The national blood requirement increased by 5% in 2010 and is expected to continue to increase between 3 to 5% per year for the next 5 years.

9      If donors respond positively to the new blood centre, HSA will look into increasing the number of similar fixed satellite sites over the next three years. “The experience garnered from successful national blood services in the region such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan has shown that multiple fixed blood collection centres are extremely popular among blood donors. HSA will continue to gather feedback from donors on their experience at the Bloodbank@Woodlands. Their views will be invaluable to us in evaluating its effectiveness and will be incorporated in our plans for additional satellite blood collection sites”, said Dr Lim. The environment and operation of these new blood collection centres will be tailored to suit their surroundings and the lifestyles of the people that frequent these areas.

Designed with the user in mind

10     HSA collaborated with the DesignSingapore Council using Design Thinking for the first time to create a user-friendly experience for blood donors at the Bloodbank@Woodlands. As a people-centred process, Design Thinking aims to uncover the unmet needs of users to create new user experiences through user observations, interviews, framing user insights, prototyping and testing of new ideas. The new Bloodbank@Woodlands now provides a streamlined blood donation experience for donors, which complements the thoughtfully designed interior. This collaboration is part of the DesignSingapore Council's efforts in developing Design Thinking and design-driven innovation capabilities in the private and public sector through its newly-launched Design Thinking and Innovation Academy (www.designsingapore.org ↗ (opens in new tab)).

A significant milestone

11     The opening of Bloodbank@Woodlands also marks a significant milestone in HSA's mission to secure and manage the national blood supply.

12     In addition to taking place in the same year in which the national blood programme celebrates its 65th anniversary, it also coincides with HSA's commemoration of the organisation's 10 years of safeguarding public health and safety. In line with its mission to secure the stability and safety of Singapore's blood supply, HSA will continue to focus on strengthening its capabilities and expertise to deliver the highest possible levels of blood banking and donor care as it celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. 2011 also marks a decade of HSA's fruitful partnership with the SRC as the national blood recruiter.

13     “We want to make blood donation a way of life in the community as continuous support from donors is crucial in ensuring stability in our national blood supply. The Bloodbank@Woodlands marks a significant milestone during HSA's 10th anniversary year as it is the first step in developing more fixed blood collection centres to help meet increasing national blood needs in the future,” said Dr Lim.

14     Please refer to Annex A in the pdf version for a list of quick facts on Bloodbank@Woodlands.

HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE
26 JANUARY 2011

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