Cap on Number of Hours Nurses and Doctors Can Work Per Shift

71 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry intends to have a cap on the number of hours a (i) nurse and (ii) doctor can work for each shift; and (b) if not, why not.

Mr Ong Ye Kung: The Ministry does not intend to impose any additional caps on the working hours for healthcare workers beyond what is already stipulated in the Employment Act or the public healthcare cluster's employment contracts. In addition, for junior doctors, there are existing hospital guidelines, such as total allowable work hours per week and the provision of sufficient rest periods. Public healthcare institutions should put in the necessary efforts to adhere to these guidelines.

The experience with the pandemic has shown us that there will be times when healthcare workers will be subject to exigencies of service. Flexibility in deploying healthcare workers is important to ensure that our public healthcare clusters can manage the operational needs on the ground. The public healthcare clusters have established workgroups to look into enhancing the support for healthcare workers and care model transformation that will ensure a more sustainable work-life balance.