Singapore:
Hospitals and clinics in Singapore are so hungry for nurses that at least one private hospital group is offering a “person search fee” of SGD 12,000 to staff to help recruit an experienced nurse.
Even a newly graduated nurse joining the hospital can bring a referrer as little as S$3,600 to the team, according to a media report on Thursday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the shortage of nurses, as demand for them grows as many of them quit their jobs.
“The demand for nurses is high everywhere,” a private hospital administrator, who asked not to be named, told The Straits Times.
“Foreign nurses use Singapore as a springboard to find better work in countries like Canada, as there is little chance for them to get permanent residency in Singapore. There is no future for them here. “, the administrator was quoted as saying.
Last year, for the first time in more than two decades, Singapore experienced a drop in the number of nurses working there. The situation is even worse this year.
Senior Health Minister Janil Puthucheary told Parliament earlier this month: “About 1,500 health workers have resigned in the first half of 2021, compared with about 2,000 annually before the pandemic.”
“Foreign medical workers have also resigned in greater numbers, especially since they were unable to travel to visit family back home.
“Nearly 500 foreign doctors and nurses have resigned in the first half of 2021, compared with about 500 in the whole of 2020,” Puthucheary is quoted as saying.
Some medical staff have left because of the high pressure and long hours dealing with the pandemic, as the demand for manpower is increasing and is exacerbated by the reduction in staff numbers.
“When there are more patients than resources, staff is stretched like thin paper,” one public sector nurse wrote recently with the title of her post Desperate and Distressed. “And it only got worse as the day went on.”
Some foreign nurses, who are no longer able to return home to visit family for a short time, have also called it a day.
Dr. Noel Yeo, CEO of IHH Healthcare Singapore said: “Many of our foreign employees have migrated to other countries or returned to their home countries. , there are four private hospitals here.
The attrition rate this year has been very high, he added.
“Currently, we have 500 nurses and 100 patient care staff (assistants who enhance the nursing role) who are not qualified.”
As a result, it had to put in place a fee for job seekers to recruit more nurses. Associate Professor Yong Keng Kwang, chief nurse of the National Health Care Group (NHG), told The Straits Times, “The evolving COVID-19 situation is one of the main difficulties we face. . A spike in cases can increase demand for health care services and manpower, and staffing shortages are acutely felt when employees resign.”
Those who are still active end up having to shoulder the extra workload. In response, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) said it had to close 4 general hospital beds to provide the necessary manpower for an intensive care unit (ICU) bed.
Professor Yong said the cluster is working with the Ministry of Health Holdings (MOHH) “to expand and diversify our recruitment options”, such as looking at non-traditional sources for available nurses. willing to work here. But there is a further restriction on the quota (recruitment) of foreigners allowed.
It usually takes about six months to train a new nurse, he said. For specialty areas like the ICU, it can take about nine months or more. New nurses need close supervision in the early stages, so this eats into their supervisor’s work schedule.
Meanwhile, Singapore has reported 2,079 new COVID-19 cases and six deaths from complications from coronavirus as of noon on Wednesday (November 24). Cases include 40 infections from migrant workers’ dormitories and nine from abroad.
The deaths ranged in age from 60 to 83. All of them, with the exception of one unvaccinated case, had various underlying medical conditions, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
As of Wednesday, Singapore has reported 2,57,510 cases of COVID-19 and 678 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
A total of 1,365 cases were treated at the hospital, the Health Ministry said. Among them, 203 patients required supplemental oxygen at the general clinic, 34 were unstable and were being closely monitored in the ICU, and 59 were critically ill requiring intubation.
As of Tuesday, 94% of the eligible population, those 12 years of age or older, had completed their full regimen or received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Channel News Asia reported that about 24% had received booster shots.
