Forum: Act fast to draw and retain foreign nurses in Singapore

Forum: Act fast to draw and retain foreign nurses in Singapore

https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-act-fast-to-draw-and-retain-foreign-nurses-in-singapore

2023-04-27

I refer to the report, “Longer waiting times for beds in some hospitals, but treatment not delayed: MOH” (April 22). It quoted an emergency department doctor who said the real cause of the waiting times is the shortage of manpower, rather than a lack of beds, as many foreign nurses did not return after leaving Singapore during the pandemic.

Singapore continues to lose foreign nurses.

In her speech at the Ministry of Health’s Committee of Supply debate in March, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health Rahayu Mahzam said there was an urgent need to beef up nursing manpower, citing the loss of foreign nurses to competitor countries amid intensified global competition for healthcare professionals, especially nurses. The attrition rate of foreign nurses had spiked from 9.5 per cent to 14.5 per cent over 2019 to 2022, she said. 

Inflation, especially rising rents in Singapore, has also become a huge push factor.

My nursing colleagues tell me their rents have increased by more than 50 per cent in 2023.

Hospital administrators in both the private and public sector should consider providing financial support for our foreign nurses. If Singapore is not able to retain or attract nurses, the manpower shortage in our healthcare system will not improve.

The current bed crunch is not due to a shortage of infrastructure –there are vacant wards in many hospitals that cannot be used due to insufficient manpower.

More needs to be done to help our foreign nurses stay in Singapore to do their job.

Desmond Wai (Dr)