Singapore — An Instagram post on @sgnightingales about the suicide of a Malaysian nurse has gone viral, with many commenters tagging the authorities in order to draw attention to the situation.
“🔊 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,” the post was captioned.
It showed screenshots from a nurse who wants to stay anonymous, writing about a colleague who had “just become a victim of suicide”.
The colleague was described as a nice person who rarely complained or got angry.
“She was one of the most chill person on my ward,” the poster added, and no one had caught on to the fact that she was suffering from depression, as she usually came to work smiling.
Both nurses had “worked hard together in the Covid and ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) ward” and had gained some weight, but the Malaysian nurse had 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.”
Another colleague responded, saying that the nurse had wanted to go home to Malaysia, which, until last week, had been impossible due to pandemic restrictions.
Moreover, “as we all know, the situation in our ward is not permitting her to do so.”
They added that they believed the suicide could have been prevented IF only she’d hAD enough support from the ones around her, and underlined that their colleague’s death was a reminder that mental health is just as important as physical health.
They wrote that they are “all mentally tired and just need some rest”.
They also feel that “the management do not see this”, and are more concerned about the staffing ratio than looking out for the wellbeing of the staff.
If only our mental and physical health is being prioritised, “our morale will also go up along with the staffing ratios”, was another comment.
Many netizens expressed sympathy for the nurses.
A number of them tagged the authorities, including @moh_singapore, @halimahyacob, @lawrencewongst, @ongyekung, and even different media outlets such as @straits_times, @mothershipsg, and @channelnewsasia.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been difficult on everyone, but perhaps healthcare workers have borne the brunt of the hardship.
Last month, Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary alluded to a shortage of healthcare workers in a ministerial statement, where he noted a rising rate of resignations among both local and foreign healthcare workers.
He noted that about 1,500 healthcare workers had resigned between January and June of this year. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, around 2,000 resigned yearly.
The healthcare workers’ shortage has gotten so bad that a private hospital group now offers as much as $12,000 as a finder’s fee for its staff who succeed in recruiting experienced nurses to sign on.
For the first time in over 20 years, the number of nurses in Singapore decreased in 2020.
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