Singapore — A healthcare worker penned an open letter to Director of medical services Kenneth Mak on Monday (Jan 25), following the announcement that hospitals may have to “review and adjust” leave policies.
The worker wrote that they had not been able to “take more than 7 days of leave in a row” and that they had been “endlessly working”.
In an Instagram post @thehonesthealthcareworker, the healthcare worker wrote that as someone working in a hospital ward, they would like to ask Dr Mak to “reconsider your plan to impose fresh leave restrictions on us”.
On Friday (Jan 21), it was announced by Dr Mak that if Covid-19 case numbers in hospitals continue to rise, coupled with healthcare workers being unable to work due to COVID infection, hospitals may have to “review and adjust” leave policies.
In a written parliamentary reply on Jan 11, the Ministry of Health said less than one-third of public healthcare workers will not be able to fully clear their accumulated leave for 2021.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung announced in November that some 100,000 public healthcare workers in Singapore will receive a cash award of up to $4,000 for their contributions to the fight against the pandemic. Referring to the cash award, the healthcare worker added: “We appreciate the 4K but more than anything, we just want time to rest, recharge and spend time with our families”.
“We’ve been working as hard as we did back in 2021”, they added.
“What if other waves come after Omicron? Will leave restrictions be imposed again? There is only so much healthcare workers can endure, no matter how altruistic we may be”, the worker wrote.
They suggested that Dr Mak find another solution before “too many of my colleagues leave”.
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Last October, frustrated with not only on the current Covid-19 situation but also on how taxed they are, a healthcare worker (HCW) has stepped forward to say that instead of just receiving thanks from the public, they need “… better policies, … better hospital administrators, (and) … attitude change in the general public about HCWs”.
In an Instagram post @pyrexic_memes on Sunday (Oct 10), the healthcare worker, likely a doctor, shared a photo of The Straits Times’ initiative #STcovidheroes, where people were called to upload photos, videos, or doodles to show their support for healthcare workers. The caption was accompanied by the following words:
“Woah. This is worthless!”.
“Sorry, after over a year of COVID sacrifice, and years of being underpaid and overworked, thoughts and prayers don’t cut it anymore. I can’t eat thoughts & prayers, I can’t use thoughts & prayers to spend time with my loved ones, I can’t use thoughts & prayers [to] reduce the stress and toll working in healthcare makes on my health”, the healthcare worker wrote. /TISG