MOH to revise salary guidelines for community care staff; annual wages may rise by 7% or more

SINGAPORE - The 23,000 people working at community care organisations could see their annual salaries increase by about 7 per cent or more under

revised guidelines to be introduced by the end of 2026 or early 2027.

To help defray the additional costs incurred as a result of the enhanced salaries, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will provide an initial tranche of $100 million, said Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung on Feb 17.

Mr Ong said the raise for staff is in addition to the previously announced increase in the maximum subsidy for those requiring residential long-term care, which will be raised to 80 per cent in July 2026.

The maximum subsidy for Singapore citizens was 75 per cent, while that for permanent residents was 50 per cent.

Mr Ong said details of the revised salary guidelines will be issued in the coming months, following which organisations will have to make their necessary plans before their implementation.

He said the measure was a “significant move”, adding: “I hope that with this move, we continue to make healthcare an attractive career for every part of healthcare, whether it’s acute hospital operation or in a community care setting.”

Mr Ong, who is also Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, was speaking to reporters following a visit to Alexandra Hospital on the first day of Chinese New Year.

The announcement comes after about 63,000 public sector healthcare professionals

saw their monthly base salaries increase by up to 7 per cent from July 2025

, as part of efforts to better attract and retain staff.

Community care organisations provide an array of intermediate and long-term services for patients who require further care and treatment after being discharged from a general hospital, in addition to services such as home-based nursing and daycare for seniors.

MOH first published salary guidelines for such organisations in 2024, as part of efforts to provide greater transparency about wages in the sector.

Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) president K. Thanaletchimi said the union had worked with MOH to ensure salary adjustments were made for the community care sector.

“Healthcare workers in the community care sector bear the same heavy responsibility of providing the best care to patients as their counterparts in the acute care sector,” said Ms Thanaletchimi, who is also National Trades Union Congress president.

“HSEU has been actively advocating for better recognition and more competitive wages in the community care sector, to narrow the salary gap between the community care and acute care sectors,” she said.

The union encourages all community care organisations to meet these salary guidelines, she added, noting they would benefit most job roles in the sector.

Mr Ong also visited St Luke’s Hospital in Bukit Batok earlier that day.

During his visits, Mr Ong spoke to patients and staff at both hospitals, and distributed oranges to them.

He also joined staff from the two hospitals for a lohei session – the traditional tossing of yusheng during Chinese New Year festivities.

At Alexandra Hospital, Mr Ong viewed a ward where technologies such as remote monitoring cameras and wearable devices are deployed as part of a trial. They allow for the virtual monitoring of patients.

He was also briefed on updates to the hospital’s redevelopment, with the revamped hospital set to reopen progressively from 2028, with key hospital services remaining operational as work progresses.

To prepare its workforce for the redevelopment, services and operations will be scaled up incrementally, allowing teams to revise workflows and fine-tune clinical processes as the hospital expands.