With her young charge now old enough to attend day school, Madam Tang found that she had more spare time on her hands.

Coincidentally, she got a call in February from her ex-workplace, the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) to work on a part-time basis.

She jumped at the opportunity and now clocks 28 hours a week as a senior nurse educator.

Responsible for the training and development of nurses, she conducts refresher courses and sources for scholarship and training opportunities.

The flexible work arrangement allows her to pick her granddaughter up from school at 5pm.

Her love for her profession is what drew her back to IMH, said Madam Tang.

'I know the job and the people around me very well. It feels like I never left the place!' said Madam Tang, who is part of a new flexi-hour work scheme at IMH.

Launched on Monday, the Everglow Nurses' Programme re-employs retired nurses to meet staff shortage, mentor new nurses and promote patient safety by staying at the bedside of patients who are restless or at risk of self-harm. The programme targets nurses in their 50s and 60s.

Sixteen former nurses have been rehired so far.

Last December, SingHealth and the National Healthcare Group (NHG) which run some of the most prominent medical centres, said that they would rehire workers over 62, the current retirement age.

This comes ahead of the 2012 deadline to allow all firms to re-employ those over 62.