SUPPLY OF QUALIFIED REGISTERED NURSES

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SUPPLY OF QUALIFIED REGISTERED NURSES: 10.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the current strength of qualified registered nurses and the shortfall against actual demand; (b) what is the current turnover of nurses in the Government sector; (c) what is being done to ensure a sufficient supply of trained nurses to cope with the advent of new hospitals in the next 10 years; (d) what is being done to further enhance the image of nurses to attract more to the profession; and (e) why are nurses not given a day off on or in lieu of Nurses’ Day.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Sir, there are currently 18,400 nurses actively practising in Singapore, comprising 13,500

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registered nurses and 4,900 enrolled nurses and midwives. This gives a nurse to population ratio of one to 249, a significant improvement as compared to, say, 2001, when our ratio was one to 306. But we aim to further improve on it and are working towards a ratio of one to 220 by 2015.

And this would mean an increase in the nurses' population by 40%.

The bulk of these nurses, 67%, work in the public sector. The turnover of public sector nurses has improved over the years from 14% in 2001, to 9% last year. But we want to reduce it further.

To meet the projected demand for nurses, we are working on several fronts. First, we have progressively stepped up the local training of nurses. Our current local training capacity is 1,875 intake per year, which is more than double the intake of 728 in 2001. We are raising it to 2,000 per year and will consider further increases in due course.

Second, we will continue to recruit foreign nurses to supplement our local supply. Currently, foreign nurses make up 15% of our total nurses population. Not too long ago, we have foreign nurses accounting for almost 25%, so we have been able to reduce it to 15% because of increased interest among Singaporean boys and girls. But 15% is low compared to our peak of 25%, so there is scope to raise this proportion further, if necessary, and I think it is necessary.

Third, we will continue to enhance the image and the value of nursing as a desirable profession. This requires the employers to provide challenging career opportunities and favourable working conditions to attract and retain the talented to join the profession. Increasing the nurse to population ratio is part of this strategy to enhance the working condition for our nurses so that they have more

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time to look after their patients and also enjoy better worklife balance as well. Our efforts have seen result, both in terms of increased student interest in nursing and the reduced attrition of nurses from the healthcare sector. But we must not relent in our effort to compete for our fair share of talent.

In this regard, we are grateful to the President for honouring nurses by hosting an annual reception at the Istana every year on Nurses' Day which is 1st August. As employers, healthcare institutions will make the effort to show their appreciation for their nurses on this day. Their gestures take many forms, ranging from awards to celebrations. Whether it should also include a day off on or in lieu of Nurses' Day is something for the employers to decide.

Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang): Thank you, Minister, for the comprehensive answer. Yes, as an employer, I do give my nurses a day off for Nurses' Day. It may not be taken on 1st August but it can be taken as off in lieu of another day. I hope that the Ministry can consider granting nurses one day off in lieu and that they can take it at any time of the year. I think that would be a good gesture since teachers have a day off and nurses are as equally important to our society as teachers.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: I applaud Dr Lim Wee Kiak as an enlightened employer and I will pass the message down to the employers of nurses. But, as I said in my reply, it is really something for the employers to decide and it is up to them how they want to show it. My preference is to show gesture throughout the year and not just for that one day, which means showing respect, treating your nurses with dignity and recognising that theirs is a worthy profession – recognising nurses who are doing their best to treat their patients and serve them well. In fact,

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going forward, with ageing, the role played by nurses and highly-skilled nurses will become even more important because we will always be short of specialists and doctors. I have just had a discussion with the Ministry of Health colleagues on how to ramp up trained oncologists, orthopaedic surgeons, and so on. And the conclusion is that the world is so short of such specialists. While we will still try to ramp up the numbers, it can never be enough and, increasingly, we have to look at alternative allied health professionals, of which nurses are a big part, to try to help out. If you train them well, they can take on many of the routine stuff from the specialists. Collectively, as a team, they can then serve our patients much better.