Six 'Covid-19 warriors' from polyclinics get award for hard work
Front-line staff under National Healthcare Group Polyclinics lauded for their dedication
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President Halimah Yacob waving to the winners of the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics Covid-19 Warrior Award via video link yesterday. The awards were presented at a virtual ceremony of the organisation's 20th anniversary. Madam Halimah commended staff for their hard work in the fight against the pandemic, and noted that primary care played a critical role in containing the coronavirus and keeping citizens safe and healthy.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Cheryl Teh
When Covid-19 hit Singapore, staff in the healthcare profession swung into action, many of them volunteering to serve on the front lines of the crisis.
Among them was Dr Rufus Daniel, 52, a family physician and associate consultant at Yishun Polyclinic.
He set up and ran a medical centre in a migrant worker purpose-built dormitory at Kranji Lodge 1, and subsequently moved on to work at one of the first hotels converted to a swab isolation facility in Singapore.
Dr Daniel was among six polyclinic healthcare front-line staff who received the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics (NHGP) Covid-19 Warrior Award from President Halimah Yacob yesterday.
In recognition of their courage and dedication in the fight against the coronavirus, the awards were presented at a virtual ceremony of the organisation's 20th anniversary.
Themed "20 Years of Better Healthcare Together", the event also saw NHGP unveiling Singapore's largest fabric photo mosaic comprising 2,020 photos contributed by its staff from the past 20 years.
"I feel extremely proud, fortunate, and humbled to be receiving this award," Dr Daniel said.
Apart from coming up with ideas to improve the workflow at the medical centre, he went above and beyond the call of duty through his actions, including buying briyani treats for some of his patients and, on one occasion, going out of his way to help an anxious worker contact his wife in Bangladesh.
"I've learnt so much from the people I came into contact with and worked with, and I'm thankful to my team for their hard work and commitment," said Dr Daniel.
Another award recipient was Ms Tan Pek Hoon, 50, a senior nurse manager at Yishun Polyclinic who was the nursing lead for the National Healthcare Group's mass swab team.
Together with her team, Ms Tan moved from site to site, readily volunteering to help with the swabbing of big groups of foreign workers, many of whom tested positive for Covid-19.
"I've been a nurse for over 30 years - and I've been through Sars, and now Covid-19. I was happy to step up," she said.
Madam Halimah noted that primary care played a critical role in containing the coronavirus and keeping citizens safe and healthy.
"I would like to commend the NHGP staff for the hard work and sacrifices in support of our nation's fight against the pandemic," Madam Halimah said.
"It is also encouraging to see that NHGP has turned the Covid-19 situation into an opportunity by going digital and expanding its telehealth services."
Madam Halimah added that as a result of these telehealth services, more patients can now consult NHGP's care teams safely and conveniently from their homes, with more than 125,000 such sessions conducted across the organisation's six polyclinics this year.
The Tele-Dietetics service, which was launched in March, enabled patients with chronic diseases to consult via telephone or video with NHGP's dietitians. Caregivers of paediatric patients with feeding and nutritional needs can also use the service.
Also launched this year was the Tele-Psychology service, which gives eligible patients with existing psychologist review appointments the option of a telephone consultation. This allows psychologists to provide crucial mental health support and intervention to patients remotely.
Most recently, the Tele-Direct Observed Therapy service allows tuberculosis patients to substitute face-to-face visits to the polyclinic with video consultations.
The programme was piloted at the Yishun and Woodlands polyclinics in June. It was made available at all other polyclinics within the group last month.
