Healthcare manpower will be key agenda in coming years: Ong Ye Kung

SINGAPORE – Healthcare manpower will be a key agenda in the coming years as Singapore expands and transforms its workforce to meet the needs of a growing, ageing population, said Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung on Jan 16.

Following the worldwide scramble for healthcare manpower during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Republic has placed an even greater emphasis on recruiting and developing healthcare workers post-pandemic, Mr Ong said.

He noted that the country has enhanced training, development and recruitment for healthcare professionals, improved remuneration across the board and instituted a zero-tolerance policy for abuse.

Still, much more is needed to support the expansion and transformation of Singapore’s healthcare system, Mr Ong said at the 17th Singapore Health Quality Service Awards.

Organised by SingHealth since 2011, the annual awards recognise the efforts of healthcare workers in improving patient safety and outcomes.

Held at the National University of Singapore’s University Cultural Centre, the event saw 5,171 awards presented to healthcare professionals from 49 public and private healthcare institutions and community care organisations.

Mr Ong noted that Singapore’s healthcare capacity is growing, with several existing hospitals undergoing redevelopment and expansion while facilities such as the

Eastern General Hospital (EGH) campus are being built.

To support this expansion, the national healthcare manpower must grow by 20 per cent by 2030, the minister said, adding that this “significant increase” must be carefully phased and managed.

For new hospitals, this is done through a process called “nesting”, in which staff employed for future facilities are first deployed to existing facilities.

Those recruited for the new EGH – scheduled to open progressively from 2029 – will be deployed later in 2026 to existing hospitals and speciality centres under healthcare cluster SingHealth, Mr Ong said.

For example, some will augment the team at Changi General Hospital, receiving training, gaining the relevant experience and familiarising themselves with work processes.

“In this way, EGH staff will serve patients even before the physical campus is ready,” he said.

The healthcare workforce must also transform to meet the needs of an ageing population that may have various complex conditions, Mr Ong added.

Hospitals that treat acute conditions are working towards introducing clinical teams led by a principal doctor for each patient. These teams will develop a unified care plan for patients with input from various healthcare professionals.

The principal doctors will be selected from a pool of doctors with broader clinical expertise. This pool will be strengthened by the enhanced hospital clinician scheme, a nationally recognised career pathway aimed at developing clinicians with broad knowledge and expertise.

“We are growing the scheme progressively and, over time, more hospital clinicians will take on advanced clinical responsibilities and leadership roles in public hospitals,” said Mr Ong.

Beyond hospitals, community healthcare roles are also being redesigned, he noted.

This includes a sector-wide job redesign initiative for support care staff that expands their roles, allowing them to take on higher-skilled tasks, and also creates a structured career pathway for them.

Similarly, partnerships between public healthcare institutions and community eye clinics are helping to expand the role of optometrists, enabling them to manage patients with stable and less complex eye conditions, said Mr Ong.

Such tie-ups also improve access to eye care in the community, he added.

Training processes are also being transformed, Mr Ong said, noting that the Health Ministry is working with institutes of higher learning and public healthcare institutions to create more flexible, modular work-study training programmes for nurses and allied health professionals.

“As we implement all these changes, one thing must remain unchanged. That is, the success of healthcare transformation ultimately hinges on the ethos and passion of all healthcare professionals,” he said.

Among those recognised at the award ceremony was Dr Woo Jyh Haur, a senior consultant with the Singapore National Eye Centre’s (SNEC) corneal and external eye disease department, who won the Superstar Award for Exemplar Leader for Clinicians.

Dr Woo, who is also head of the SNEC Eye Clinic at Sengkang General Hospital and clinical director of the SNEC risk office, established the paediatric cornea service at SNEC and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) to meet a need for deeper specialisation in the area.

In 2021, he performed the first corneal neurotisation in the region – a procedure that restores corneal sensation in patients with neurotrophic keratopathy, a rare degenerative eye disease.

“I think the commonality to the roles that I hold is that, in the end, it’s about being able to serve and help patients, restore vision and improve their quality of life,” he said.

Another winner, Ms Coreen Low – a senior nurse manager at KKH’s plastic, reconstructive and aesthetic surgery department – clinched the Superstar Award for Exemplar Leader in Nursing.

A nurse of 46 years, she helped establish the burn centre at KKH and advises its children’s emergency department on burn treatment requirements.

She said the best part of her job is building rapport with her patients and seeing them recover.

“I feel like I can give them whatever health assistance they require,” she said.