It is no doubt that healthcare workers are under extreme pressure for the past 20 months. From the four-digit COVID-19 cases daily to the immense number of cases in the ICU, healthcare workers do not deserve the discrimination some people still showed to them.
It is no wonder so many of them have decided to step away from the job.
More Healthcare Workers in S’pore Have Resigned in 2021 Compared to 2020
Before the pandemic, about 2,000 healthcare workers resigned annually. In 2020, around 500 foreign workers resigned and 600 foreign workers quit in the whole of 2019.
Today, during Parliament, it’s revealed that over 1,500 healthcare workers have quit their jobs in the first half of 2021.
This means more people have left the industry this year.
Of those 1,500 workers, close to 500 of these resignations were from foreign doctors and nurses.
Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said these resignations were mostly tendered for personal reasons, migration or moving back to their home countries.
Considering how healthcare workers have been battling the pandemic for over the past 20 months, signs of fatigue could be seen among them.
For the month of September, nurses worked for an average of 160 to 175 hours per month.
One of the healthcare workers described the current situation to be like a never-ending marathon. Just as they were about to cross the finishing line, the line became the starting mark to another marathon.
Unable to Take Leave
Most of these workers are also unable to take leave since 2020. Over 90% of them will not be able to clear their accumulated leave for 2021.
Aside from the workload, one of the reasons that seemed to deter healthcare workers from taking sick leaves is because they are afraid that it will affect their performance appraisals.
However, Dr Puthucheary assured that although there were previously isolated incidents, this practice has ceased.
Those who are still concerned about the way sick leave affects their performance can approach their union, the Ministry of Health (MOH) or the Ministry of Manpower for assistance.
What Has Been Done?
Now that a problem has been identified, what has been done to rectify it?
Recently, MOH Holdings (kind of like the umbrella that “owns” all the public healthcare institutions) announced that all healthcare workers can apply for overseas leave. They are able to travel to countries under the vaccinated travel lane.
MOH is also actively redeploying manpower to serve as healthcare or patient care assistants at health institutions.
They are reaching out to get more volunteers to join the SG Healthcare Corps and collaborating with private hospitals to lighten up the workload in the public hospital.
Additionally, they are also stepping up the recruitment of foreign healthcare workers.
Counselling services, staff helplines and peer support programmes were also provided to aid the staff members and safeguard their well-being.
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