The apology came after netizens took to X to complain about long waiting times caused by a system error that reportedly mixed up patients’ appointment slots.

“My appointment was at 8am, but the system suddenly changed it to 11am. Now it’s already 12.22 pm, and most of us waiting here are those with 8am appointments. It’s never been this bad before!” one user, Farhan Zulkefly, wrote on X.

In a statement, the department said the SQS was still in its pilot phase, running from July 1 to Oct 30 across 33 clinics.

It said the hospital’s ICT division was monitoring and stabilising the system, adding that a contingency plan was in place to revert to manual operations in case of disruptions.

The department added that the system was expected to be fully stabilised by year-end, as it involved migrating data for more than 400,000 patients.