Nurses to get 'retention payment' to keep them in profession
Besides additional payouts this year and next, they will receive base salary increase
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Health Minister Ong Ye Kung (left) taking a wefie after the 2022 Healthcare Scholarships Award Ceremony with some of the students who received scholarships, including Ms Zelda Chee (in short-sleeved white shirt), who will be pursuing a nursing degree at the National University of Singapore.
Nurses will receive additional payments on top of their salaries this year and next year in a move to keep them in the profession, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung yesterday.
Mr Ong said the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic is a major burden on nurses here.
"I think they are deserving of another payment, perhaps structured as a nurses' retention payment," he added.
Speaking at the 2022 Healthcare Scholarships Award Ceremony held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mr Ong said more details on the enhanced payment package will be announced on Nurses' Day, which falls on Aug 1.
Mr Ong said remuneration must be addressed if Singapore is to keep building up manpower in its healthcare sector - which it will need to do amid an ageing population and more international demand for qualified healthcare workers.
He said the Government had finished a review of the salaries of nurses and allied health professionals last year, and the second-phase adjustment for nurses was completed this month.
They are set to get increases of 5 per cent to 14 per cent on their monthly base salaries.
Due to the stresses arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, nurses were awarded special bonuses in 2020 and last year, and given a Covid-19 Healthcare Award last year.
The healthcare award was given to staff of publicly funded healthcare organisations involved in the pandemic fight, and each individual received up to $4,000.
This was on top of their base salaries, which the Ministry of Health (MOH) said were between $3,300 and $5,200 a month for entry-level registered nurses, depending on their qualifications and adding in allowances and bonuses, as at 2020.
The strain on healthcare workers due to the pandemic caused many of them to leave the profession.
Around 1,500 resigned in the first half of last year, compared with 2,000 annually pre-pandemic.
Mr Ong said more must be done to support nurses, including streamlining unnecessary administrative work, introducing technology and improving information technology systems.
He added that Singapore must continue to recruit good foreign nurses, given its small population.
Foreign nurses currently make up about a third of the nursing workforce, he said.
This group, in particular, was hit hard by border closures caused by Covid-19. In March, MOH said the attrition rate for foreign nurses last year was 14.8 per cent, compared with 7.4 per cent for local nurses.
Said Mr Ong: "We will continue to find ways to entrench the feeling amongst foreign nurses that they are an integral part of the Singapore healthcare family, and they can continue to develop their careers in Singapore."
Good leadership is also crucial to building up manpower, he added, and healthcare scholarships are a key initiative to bring talent into the sector to groom as future leaders.
Yesterday, 120 students received scholarships to study nursing, social work, physiotherapy, diagnostic radiography and pharmaceutical science, among other subjects.
5%-14%
Potential pay increase for nurses in the second phase of adjustment of their salaries following a review.
1,500
Approximate number of nurses who resigned in the first half of last year, compared with 2,000 annually before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Zelda Chew, 21, will be pursuing a nursing degree at the National University of Singapore from next week.
Ms Chew, whose younger sister is also studying nursing, said she was heartened by Mr Ong's announcement that nurses will receive a pay bump.
She said: "Covid-19 was really hard on nurses and they deserve to be recognised and they deserve a pay increment."
Correction note: This article has been edited to reflect the correct surname of Ms Zelda Chew. We are sorry for the error.
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