ENSURING A STRONG PIPELINE OF NURSES FOR SINGAPORE

Associate Professor Yasmin Y. Ortiga’s commentary (“As competition for migrant nurses heat up, Singapore should be worried”, May 17) is a timely reminder of the challenges that countries face in recruiting sufficient nurses. As societies age, demand for healthcare rises, and so does the competition for skilled healthcare manpower, especially nurses.

However, some of the information in the commentary is outdated.

For example, there is healthy interest among locals to join the nursing workforce. The local institutes of higher learning continue to receive many applications for nursing programmes. Hence, we have increased our nursing school intakes by about 30 per cent over the past decade. Today, about one in 20 Singaporean students studies nursing.

Singapore has managed to maintain our attractiveness in hiring foreign nurses to complement our local nurses. Besides direct recruitment, we have been offering scholarships and sponsorships to students and fresh graduates from regional countries, who will then work in the Singapore healthcare system after graduation. Foreign nurses who have performed well, become valued members of our healthcare community, and demonstrated commitment to Singapore, can also apply and be granted permanent residency.

Prof Ortiga quoted an attrition rate of 14.5 per cent in 2022 for foreign nurses. Indeed, during the Covid-19 pandemic, we experienced an exceptionally high attrition rate for nurses. However, this has since come down to 8.5 per cent in 2024, and remains stable.

Many nurses join and remain in the profession because it is a meaningful career that impacts lives. We will therefore continue to ensure professional development and career progression, so that nurses can perform at their maximum potential, in a healthcare system that serves our patients well and contributes to the Singapore society.

Adeline Leong

Director, Manpower Planning & Strategy

Ministry of Health