MOH to invest almost $12 million over four years to grow community healthcare workforce
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will be investing close to $12 million over the next four years to grow the community healthcare workforce in Singapore.
This will be done through the new Community Care Manpower Development Award (CCMDA), which assimilates four different awards previously administered by the Agency for Integrated Care.
The agency oversees the community care sector, which includes nursing homes, senior care centres and day rehabilitation facilities.
The award was rolled out in April, providing fresh entrants, mid-career switchers and current staff working in the community healthcare sector with greater opportunities for career growth.
It has expanded the scope of supported disciplines to include a wider range of community healthcare skills, including social work and speech therapy.
The CCMDA was presented to the pioneer batch of 33 recipients yesterday by Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor at the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital auditorium.
Among the recipients was Miss Aw Hui Zhen, 28, a senior physiotherapist with the Singapore Cancer Society. She will be pursuing an Advanced Certificate in Lymphedema Management in Canada with the award.
The Nanyang Polytechnic graduate said she wanted to obtain specialised skills but did not have the opportunity till now.
"The new award comes at the right time and will help people like me in the healthcare sector gain more skills," she said.
Dr Khor said it is important for Singapore to build its community healthcare workforce to better support its ageing population.
"With good training programmes for new entrants, and greater opportunities for existing staff to pursue further studies and develop their careers, seniors will benefit from better standards of care," she said.
"I hope to see more individuals choosing to join community care, and more employers joining us in our efforts to grow and develop the sector."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
