Press release · September 2, 2026 · prnewswire.com
Siemens Healthineers Report Cites FAST Awareness Gap in Singapore Stroke Care
Summary
Singapore has reduced stroke mortality by up to six-fold since the 1990s, but a new report said limited public awareness of stroke symptoms has continued to delay treatment. The report was unveiled by Siemens Healthineers at Hospital Management Asia 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand.
The report, Strengthening Stroke System Readiness Across ASEAN, drew on insights from seven experts across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, including A/Prof. Anil Gopinathan of National University Hospital, Singapore. It cited figures from the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Region and described stroke as the fourth leading cause of death in Singapore, alongside rising cases tied to an ageing population.
Experts identified low awareness of the FAST warning signs—Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call for help—as a remaining gap in the care chain. They also described Singapore’s stroke response approach, including coordinated action plans that routed patients to three hospitals where paramedics trained to identify stroke symptoms bypassed the emergency department and went straight to a computed tomography (CT) scan.
In Singapore, the report described a streamlined imaging protocol that used a single CT scan to confirm the absence of bleeding, assess stroke severity, and confirm the patient was within 24 hours of onset before proceeding directly to treatment. The report also discussed adapting planning elements alongside models such as Vietnam’s public-private Stroke International Services hospital in Can Tho City, and said artificial intelligence emerged as a tool to support detection from a single CT scan when integrated into clinical pathways and supported by trained professionals, robust referral networks and standardised care protocols. “Every healthcare system across Southeast Asia is at a different stage of its stroke care journey, yet many of the challenges are shared,” said Fabrice Leguet. “In Singapore, that means extending the same urgency hospitals bring to stroke care into the community, so patients and families recognise the signs and act just as quickly,” said Ai Li Siow. The report’s next priorities for Singapore included strengthening public education on FAST signs and sustaining round-the-clock specialist staffing, particularly stroke nurses and cath lab teams.
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