Caring for migrant workers’ health
Healthcare providers, employers, workers and NGOs tell of the achievements and gaps in Manpower Ministry’s primary healthcare system.
One migrant worker needed a biopsy, but his employer refused to provide a letter to show he was insured and threatened to send him home. HealthServe, a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), eventually funded the procedure.
Another repeatedly returned to a general practitioner (GP) clinic for pain in his stomach, despite being referred to a specialist for further examination as his employer did not want to pay for it. He was eventually taken to a hospital’s accident and emergency department during one of his GP visits because the pain had become unbearable.
Dr Louis Tan, chief executive of private healthcare provider StarMed Specialist Centre, said migrant workers who require specialist intervention often do not get it.
This was one of the gaps that industry players and watchers highlighted in the healthcare system for migrant workers that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) rolled out in 2022 to provide them with greater access to primary medical care that is also affordable.