Will someone save us before we nurses crumble and collapse from burn out?

A nurse has spoken up online regarding the issues of running on a skeleton crew, patient complaints, inadequate staffing, and more, urging for something to be done to address the situation. “Will someone save us before we nurses crumble n collapse from burnt out? (sic)” asked nurses’ rights group SG Nightingales on Thursday (June 9).

The anonymous message asking the page to raise awareness on the matter reads, “Staffing is very, very bad with high MC (medical certificate) rates, everyone is dying with full house, running on a skeleton crew, being asked to do AP (whole day) shifts then gahmen says another Covid wave expected in July, how are we supposed to cope?”

“Patients complaints also (at an) all-time high, how can we be expected to cover everything when it’s only two SNs (senior nurse) to cover the whole ward with one junior, everyone just surviving, as long (as) patient survive can already, also have so many TLC patients and families, how can.”

The Instagram page tagged President Halimah Yacob, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the Ministry of Health in the post.

Instagram user curryayamgoreng commented: “Let’s be honest. We can write up and complain all we can and able to, but changes won’t happen overnight. This staffing issue has been going on for years for all we know and ultimately with the number of patients rising, the ratio will only be worse. All we do is stay strong, and God forbid, if we really can’t take it, resign and do locum.”

One concerned netizen asked if nurses were really “stupidly underpaid” as doctors don’t often complain about similar matters.

Instagram user allythealpaca explained, “Fresh grad gets 2.3k after CPF deduction, which if you can work in the F&B you can get 2.3k with meal allowances. We don’t get overtime pay. No meal allowances. No time to eat or go for a toilet break. Unsafe nurse to patient ratios. If a patient abuses us, it’s a ‘what can you do to prevent this from happening,’ rather than taking action. And so much more.”

The Independent Singapore has also contacted the Ministry of Health for a comment on the matter. The article will be updated accordingly. /TISG

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