Length of Service of Foreign Nurses Employed at Restructured Hospitals

1 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for Health (a) for the past eight years, what are the annual median and average lengths of service of foreign nurses in restructured hospitals; and (b) if the data is not available, whether there has been an increasing or decreasing trend in the lengths of service of foreign nurses.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) (for the Minister for Health): Mr Deputy Speaker, the length of service of foreign nurses in restructured hospitals has increased over the years.

Between 2014 and 2021, the median increased from five to eight years, whilst the average increased from seven to 10 years. The actual median and average figures should be higher as the existing data does not take into account nurses who switched hospitals but remained in the public healthcare sector.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang (Nee Soon): Thank you, Sir. I thank the Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the reply. Could I just ask what is the current shortfall in terms of foreign nurses that we are planning to hire?

Secondly, I think Minister Ong Ye Kung yesterday mentioned how we are ramping up our efforts to hire foreign nurses. So, could I ask whether there is a timeline for this and when do we expect to be able to meet this shortfall?

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: Deputy Speaker, I thank the Member for the questions. I wanted to go back to the points that had been raised in the discussion during the Healthier SG White Paper debate and the further Parliamentary Questions (PQs) that had been raised in the past. Minister Ong Ye Kung had also given an indication of these numbers, extensively, during the debate on the White Paper.

We are looking at, by 2030, to have 82,000 nurses, allied health and support care staff, up from the 58,000 that we have today. A large portion of these numbers would be for nurses. This is something that we have already been working on and the target is by 2030 to up these numbers. The clusters are doing their best to step up recruitment efforts.

Minister Ong had earlier indicated that even in as far as our local intake is concerned, we have looked at the intakes at the schools, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Polytechnics and Universities. This is also going to be increased over time. We have about 2,100 from them and we are looking at increasing to 2,300.

These are the different efforts that are being put in place. We have discussed this extensively at the White Paper debate. With all the efforts in place, we are hoping to see a better number. We are not just looking at the shortfall. It is also important for us to also see what other needs there may be. So, these are the aspects we look at for the efforts we are doing.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: I have those numbers, but those numbers include both local and foreign. I am asking if we have a number specifically for foreign nurses. I think we debated this before that the problem is that a lot of the foreign nurses have left. And that is why there is a huge burden on the local nurses now. I am just wondering what is the shortfall in terms of foreign nurses and how we intend to meet that shortfall.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: As I mentioned earlier, we do not only just look at shortfall and work towards just filling up the shortfall. We are also having to look at the demands of the public and what are the needs. We do not necessarily find it valuable to make that distinction.

As much as possible, we try and see what are the different avenues and channels for us to increase this intake and we are making efforts on that front. We have explained how we have worked with the clusters to see how we can see to the well-being of the nurses and improve the stature of their career, career paths as well as increasing the intake from the different schools. This is an aspect that we are doing and that will never be enough – to reach the 82,000 that we are looking for. Hence, we have to complement that with the efforts we are doing in recruitment of overseas nurses.

This is the multi-pronged approach that we are taking and this is something that will, hopefully, increase and improve the situation in time to come.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Last supplementary question, please, Mr Louis Ng.

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: Just one last one. I know we are trying to increase the intake but it will take some time. If today, we increase the intake, it will be a couple of years down the road before we see the effects in the wards.

So, the fastest way to alleviate the problem is perhaps to see whether we can increase the hiring of foreign nurses. In a few weeks, a few months, we could hire a huge number that will help to alleviate the current problem. That is why I keep pushing for information on what is MOH's expected number of foreign nurses that we are hoping to hire and how we are hoping to reach that. Minister Ong Ye Kung shared yesterday some of the countries we are looking at.

With those plans out there in the public, some of the local nurses might feel a bit more assured that help is on the horizon and not three or four years away.

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: I understand the concerns. We have had a lot of extensive debates. The Member has filed a lot of questions on this matter. I have also repeatedly explained what our approach is.

We are taking a multi-pronged approach. We are clearly speeding up our efforts. We have given an indication of timing, which is by 2030, to have 82,000 in total. We are looking at the specific avenues and different avenues. I also hope that the Member could assist to explain to some of the nurses whom he is in touch with, who are concerned about this situation, that we are doing whatever is necessary to retain the nurses who are within our healthcare system right now; we are doing what we can to increase the numbers.

That is the more important focus, rather than talk about just the shortfall. Because we are talking about different avenues and different things have to change over time. We need to adjust because what is important to us is that we meet the demands, we address the current concerns that the healthcare sector is facing right now. So, we will do whatever it takes in the different aspects – increasing the intake from the local workforce, as well as to increase our recruitment. That is something the Member is quite familiar with.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Mr Leong Mun Wai, do you have a supplementary question?

Mr Leong Mun Wai (Non-Constituency Member): Yes, Deputy Speaker, thank you. May I ask the Senior Parliamentary Secretary to reach 80,000, what is the plan? How many of them will be foreigners and how many of them will be locals?

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: Deputy Speaker, I think I am repeating myself ad nauseum. I think Mr Leong Mun Wai was also present at the discussion of the Healthier SG White Paper, at the debate. And Mr Louis Ng has also filed several PQs on this. You may want to check our responses in response to those PQs.

As I have explained, we have a target of 82,000 of all workers – nurses, allied health as well as all the other necessary workers in the healthcare sector. We have already set the target by 2030 because we are working towards Healthier SG. This number is in different categories and what is important for us is that we address the demands, the needs of the sector as well as the needs of the community.

We have already explained in many of those questions that were put earlier, the different ways in which we are doing this. We are recruiting from overseas, we are improving the well-being of the nurses here, we are improving the career pathways, we are supporting them with the different job redesigns to facilitate their workflow. These are the various efforts. I hope that Members can also support us by assuring the healthcare workers that this is a matter that is very close to the heart of the Ministry. We have been engaging extensively with the clusters, we have been engaging extensively with the healthcare workers and trying to give them some respite.

This is a multi-pronged approach. Everyone has a role to play in this – MOH, the public – in helping to alleviate the concerns and the challenges that our healthcare workers are currently facing.