Why some healthcare workers in Singapore’s hospitals have quit - and others soldier on

SINGAPORE: It was early 2021. Lisa*, then a senior staff nurse at a public hospital in Singapore, received news that her father had contracted COVID-19 in Malaysia amid the Delta wave.

“The saddest part about being in healthcare is when you spend so much time taking care of patients and their families, but you end up neglecting your own,” she said. Two of the public healthcare clusters approached by CNA Insider did not share their attrition rate. The third, the National Healthcare Group , said last year’s rate was “higher than pre-COVID periods ” but “manageable”.But even as the Omicron wave wanes, healthcare workers CNA Insider spoke to say manpower shortage remains a concern.

The departures this year were “more pronounced” than last year, he felt. “ the third year of the pandemic, I guess most of them had enough. There was uncertainty over when their next break would come.” For David*, a nurse in the emergency department with 10 years’ experience, the fact that experienced workers are quitting is a deeper concern than the numbers alone.

The nurse-patient ratio has also increased “from 1:6 to 1:12 or more”, wrote the author, who later told CNA Insider he saw this happening in his hospital — although this could not be verified officially.

“You’re always in the building throughout the day. You don’t get to see the little, simple things that tell you it’s going to be a good day,” she said, tears welling in her eyes at the memories. Carelink Home Nursing Services estimated the increase at 40 per cent, compared with before the pandemic. Common reasons include flexible working schedules and more balanced pace of work, as well as higher compensation and recognition, said agency director Vikki Tan.

At one point, he was taking care of eight to 10 patients — his previous “worst-case scenario” was six to seven patients. After months of “repetitive” work and “this vicious cycle of non-stop working”, he reached “breaking point”, he said.If this trend for nurses going to nursing agencies continues, there is cause for concern, said Associate Professor Jeremy Lim of the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health.

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