Healthcare Professionals Undergoing Investigation for Patient Abuse

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2655

NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER

FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 2 APRIL 2024

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Ms Rachel Ong

MP for West Coast GRC

Question No. 5858

To ask the Minister for Health (a) whether there are any restrictions on the employment or deployment of healthcare professionals who are undergoing investigation for charges relating to patient abuse; (b) for each year since 2010, what is the number of healthcare professionals who have been charged for patient abuse; and (c) of these, how many continued to work in the healthcare industry in Singapore.

Answer

1     Under the Healthcare Services Act 2020 (HCSA), all licensed healthcare institutions are required to report any incident or allegations of abuse involving a patient to their management. This includes cases of patient abuse by healthcare professionals. The licensees must take steps as soon as is possible to manage the risk of recurrent abuse. This may include the reassignment of a healthcare professional to non-clinical duties, or to require the healthcare professional to take a leave of absence, to minimise further patient interactions while investigations are ongoing. The healthcare professional may be further referred to the police if a criminal offence is likely to have been committed, and to the relevant Professional Board for further disciplinary action.

2     Since 2010, four healthcare professionals have been convicted of offences related to patient abuse. Disciplinary actions were taken in all these cases, including suspension and being struck off the appropriate professional register. Three are no longer practicing and one returned to practice after serving a 15 month suspension.