Healthcare Workers in S’pore Are Burning Out Due to Flu Season, Omicron & Resignations: HSEU

2022-02-24 , 11:07 am

It’s tough being a healthcare worker during this period of time.

The flu season has arrived in untimely fashion, clashing with the surge of COVID-19 Omicron Variant cases, and more and more healthcare workers are quitting due to the stress the entire pandemic situation have been causing them for more than two years.

And people are heading to clinics to take MCs when they don’t need to. Watch this video to the end and you’d understand:

Singapore’s healthcare system is currently under strain because of an increase in patients and a shortage of manpower; that is an indisputable fact.

Ministry of Health Allowing Hospitalisation Leaves for Healthcare Workers

Given the pressing circumstances, Ms K. Thanaletchimi, the President of the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union, states that it’s a relief that public healthcare workers are allowed to record their sick leaves under hospitalisation leaves.

This approval of this request was important because the Union needed to ensure that healthcare workers didn’t have to take unpaid leaves after their sick leaves ran out, especially when they were placing themselves at the risk of infection for the work they do.

Approximately 70,000 healthcare workers in three public health categories will benefit from this.

To further help with the shortage of manpower and reduce the caseload on the healthcare workers’ shoulders, Defence Minister Ng Eng Heng has deployed about 40 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Personnel, who are mostly doctors or medics, to the Accident & Emergency Departments to help cope with the rise in cases.

Benefits of Healthcare Workers Being on Hospitalisation Leaves

The benefits are quite clear-cut, to be honest.

It will allow those who are ill to rest and recover properly. Since they are treating the sick, they need to be healthy first.
It gives healthcare workers a peace of mind as they attend to their duties that their annual leave will be taken away, and they don’t have to worry about their pay being deducted.

Without having to be concerned about their financial situation and allowed to regain their bearings properly should they ever fall ill in the midst of their duties, means that the healthcare workers are more likely to perform better.

It takes away their fear and anxiety regarding the risks of their jobs and livelihood.

Ms Thanaletchimi: Healthcare System Is Under Strain

“We’re in a tight situation, that’s the honest truth,” Ms Thanaletchimi said on Wednesday (23 Feb).

She attributes the problem to a couple of reasons.

For one, there has been a shortage of staff, who were either down with Omicron or their loved ones were infected by Omicron, and they needed to take care of them as well.

Secondly, it’s currently the flu season.

While the coronavirus and common flu can be easily differentiated with the available test kits, they do share common symptoms which might lead to paranoia, and both illnesses occurring together has taxed the healthcare system even more.

Thirdly, the shortage of manpower also means that healthcare workers are being called back to work even on their rest days, leading to insufficient rest and no way to destress.

Fourthly, a sizeable number of foreign healthcare workers have resigned.

According to the Government statistics from November 2021, nearly 1,500 healthcare workers have quit in the first half of 2021, compared to the 2,000 annual resignations prior to the pandemic.

Among the figures include 500 foreign doctors and nurses, which is roughly the same number as the entirety of 2020, while 2019 saw a total of 600 resignations.

Numbers do add up; it means that the number of healthcare workers are down by 1,600 at least, in terms of foreign manpower.

Reiterated Messages From MOH

In order to mollify the heavy patient loads at clinics and hospitals, the Ministry of Health (MOH) had explicitly announced in its Press Release on 22 Feb that Medical Certificates (MC) are not necessary, should an employee contract COVID-19.

However, some employers have continued to insist that they are required.

In a plea for the stressed-out health workers, Ms Thanaletchimi implores patients with mild symptoms to do self-recovery at home.

Please don’t go to the A&E department unless you are facing severe symptoms from COVID-19.

If it’s just mild symptoms like a blocked and runny nose and sore throat, there is really no need to crowd the clinics.

Testing positive for COVID-19, especially when you’re fully vaccinated and boosted, doesn’t mean that it’s going to be the end of the world. You’ll be fine.

“We need the cooperation of everyone, including employers, to not insist on asking for MCs. Have a thought for healthcare workers.”

They’re stressed out enough, as is.