Forum: Don’t forget Covid lessons while tightening MC rules

I read with concern the article “MOH to tighten rules on MCs after feedback on docs issuing them excessively or improperly” (May 12).

It was suggested that teleconsultation was most open to abuse by “malingerers”.

Pre-Covid-19, the prevailing work culture was “it’s just the flu, get back to work”. But when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, this view changed as people stayed away from work for the health of their colleagues.

During the years of the pandemic, we were reminded that if we were unwell, we should stay away from crowded places. These “new norms” had inculcated in us a greater sense of personal responsibility, including wearing masks when we were unwell.

However, these practices were forgotten when we returned to pre-pandemic days, including being careless with how we respond to matters like influenza.

And I fear that the tightening of the issuing of MCs will likely mean that we will return to the culture of sick employees going to work.

Rather than worry about being hauled up for an inquiry, doctors may err on the safe side, not issue an MC and send patients back to work because symptoms may not be severe enough. Or patients who might be more ill than they think they are will be deterred from going to a clinic to queue, and go to work and risk passing on germs.

Teleconsultation has been a boon for patients who are too unwell to travel to a clinic where they have to wait to see a doctor. It encourages those who feel unwell to seek consultation conveniently.

Just because a minority abuse the system does not necessitate a sweeping change of the system. Employees have a finite number of medical leave, and abusers of the system will eventually run out of leave. The problem will not continue indefinitely.

We live in a society where we are constantly near each other. I worry that the difficult lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic are being forgotten across all levels of society.

Alan Kiat-Leng Lee