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Man surprised to be charged $300 after calling 1777 for private ambulance to hospital
PHOTO: STOMP
Ong Su Mann
Submitted by Stomper Patrick
A man was surprised to be charged $300 after calling 1777 for a private ambulance to Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
Stomper Patrick claimed he was told it would be only $220.
Explaining why he called 1777 for the ambulance, he said: "I just had an experience with 995 that the ambulance will only go to the nearest A&E even if it is a private hospital that is nearest.
"My question is, what happens if a person cannot afford a private A&E?
"I discovered that 1777 is a totally private entity that you can request to send to any hospital, but the charges are all private."
https://www.stomp.sg/singapore-seen...rresponsible-and-oblivious?ref=related-center
995 is operated by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), which does not charge for emergency cases, but $274 will be charged for each non-emergency case that SCDF conveys to the hospital.
1777 is operated by a company called Connect Centre, which describes itself as a "multi-channel outsourced contact centre that provides customer relationship management solutions".
On May 29, the Stomper's father wanted to go to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) from Upper Boon Keng Road.
The distance is about 5km and the journey takes about 10 minutes.
"It's quite ridiculous that he can't use 995, which can be free, because they will take him to Raffles Hospital," lamented Patrick.
Raffles Hospital is nearer as it is only about 4km away.
"So to go to TTSH, he needed to use 1777," recounted the Stomper.
"During the 1777 call, the person on the phone quoted $220. It was only when we reached TTSH that we received the invoice from Goodwill Ambulance Services. I was surprised to see that it was a $300 bill.
"I informed the ambulance attendant that I was quoted $220 and asked why it was now $300. He told me to clarify with 1777, which in turn pushed me back to Goodwill.
"I didn't want to make a big fuss at A&E, so I just paid the $300."
Patrick wrote to Goodwill to ask: "How do you justify $300 for such a short distance between Upper Boon Keng to TTSH?"
The Stomper also inquired about the discrepancy between the bill and the 1777 quote.
Goodwill's managing director Merrill Mathew Babu replied: "For this issue, you will need to clarify with 1777 as the call centre is on 1777's end.
"Our charges are standard to 1777, which is $300 including GST for every case. This was what we have quoted 1777 for the transfer. We are unsure how 1777 has conveyed the information to you. We will bring up this issue to 1777 to ensure they inform the caller of the pricing accurately.
"We apologise for the inconvenience caused."
Patrick told Stomp: "My main issue is why the Ministry of Health (MOH) is promoting 1777 when it's fully private, and worst of all, you can't direct the 995 ambulance to the nearest government hospital, but instead, they will take you to the nearest hospital even if it is a private hospital."
In 2021, MOH published a list of fees charged by private ambulance operators to help "ensure greater price transparency for those who need private ambulance services".
A list of fees can also be found on the Connect Centre website.
According to the SCDF website, SCDF emergency ambulances will convey patients only to the nearest appropriate MOH-designated hospital by travel time with the appropriate medical facility so that they can receive immediate medical attention.
Stomp has reached out to MOH for more info.
