Assessing Work Done by Healthcare Workers Outside of Official Duty Hours
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether surveys assess healthcare workers’ off-duty administrative work and how these realities are addressed to protect flexible working arrangements. Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung stated that clusters monitor staffing, noting a survey where 90% of medical residents followed an 80-hour work week guideline. He acknowledged that high patient loads occasionally require staff to complete administrative tasks after official hours when not attending to immediate clinical needs. He highlighted that rising demand from an ageing population puts the system under pressure, meaning workload relief for one group affects others or patient care. Long-term strategies involve expanding the healthcare workforce, enhancing efficiency through technology, and fostering teamwork to manage the collective workload.
Transcript
69 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Minister for Health (a) whether a survey has been conducted to assess the extent to which healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, are working outside of official duty hours, including from offsite, for purposes of preparation or completion of administrative matters arising from clinical duties transpiring during official duty hours; and (b) what is being done to recognise such ground realities where they arise, and ensure this will not undermine the intent of flexible working arrangements.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: The public healthcare clusters monitor and manage staffing needs to balance the workload of its healthcare workers. Based on a recent survey conducted for medical residents, about nine in 10 residents kept within the guidelines of an 80-hour work week and one out of seven days free from educational and clinical responsibilities.
That said, at times when there is high patient load, healthcare professionals complete administrative tasks after their official duty hours, when they are not busy attending to patients’ needs.
Ageing and rising patient load mean that the health system is under significant pressure and healthcare workers are all working hard. We need to recognise that relieving workload of one group often means more work for others or reduced patient care. Ultimately, we will need to expand the healthcare team, inculcate teamwork, foster understanding amongst healthcare professionals, enhance efficiency, deploy suitable technologies and encourage good health to manage workload.