Tributes pour in for nurse who committed suicide, colleagues hope to raise awareness of their plight

Singapore — Late on Wednesday night (Dec 8), nurses’ group @sgnightingales posted a photo of Ms Karunyah Paskaran.

Ms Paskaran has been identified as the nurse who committed suicide, as was recounted in an earlier report.

“When will ANYONE listen to us, when we say mental health is everything? I am speechless that one of our Malaysian nightingales have left us from battling her own struggles. This incident is indeed a bloody wake up call for everyone in the healthcare sector,” @sgnightingales in a Dec 6 post.

“We really need to take the cries of nurses seriously. This is the time for MOH to step up and improve working conditions and mental health for nurses. We cannot allow this to simply go on,” wrote WakeUp Singapore, which shared the post.

Ms Paskaran, a Malaysian, had worked in the urology ward at Singapore General Hospital (SGH). One of her colleagues described her as a nice person who rarely complained or got angry. No one had caught on to the fact that she was suffering from depression, as she usually came to work smiling.

The nurses had “worked hard together in the Covid and ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) ward” and many had gained weight. Unlike them, Ms Paskaran lost a lot of weight this year.

“I thought because she just wanted to be slimmer… But now I think that maybe she is struggling with her problems,” said the colleague.

The colleague added that they also feel “the management do not see this”. Some feel that their managers are less concerned about staff welfare than about the staffing ratio.

“If only our mental and physical health is being prioritised, “our morale will also go up along with the staffing ratios”, was another comment.

A nurse who commented on @sgnightingales’ later post wrote that they do not blame SGH for her death, but “we cannot discount that our work, our workplace culture, our workplace community affects one’s mental health significantly.”

They are, she said, “simply asking for more compassion, empathy, support from the leaders in nursing towards the nurses on the ground”.

“It is traumatic to have a colleague die of suicide, and it is extremely difficult to continue working while grieving/making sense of what happened,” the nurse wrote.

“If this is not an eyeopener to the management, j don’t know what else will,” wrote one netizen.

Others said there was a need for the hospital culture to change.

On the Wake Up, Singapore Facebook page, netizens commented along the same lines.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health issues, the following helplines are available:

• National Care Hotline: 1800-202-6868 (8 am—12 am)
• Institute of Mental Health’s Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222 (24 hours)
• Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444 (24 hours) /1-767 (24 hours)
• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
• Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928
• Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 and www.tinklefriend.sg
• Community Health Assessment Team: 6493-6500/1 and www.chat.mentalhealth.sg /TISG

Read also: Nurse: Our M’sian colleague’s suicide, a bloody wake-up call for healthcare sector… we all mentally tired & need rest… our mgmt don’t see this…

Nurse: Our M’sian colleague’s suicide, a bloody wake-up call for healthcare sector… we all mentally tired & need rest… our mgmt don’t see this…