New scheme speeds up hiring of therapists

Centralised system matches those qualified with institutions

By Poon Chian Hui, The Straits Times, 2 Nov 2012

A NEW centralised employment scheme has made it easier for health-care institutions to hire therapists, who are in demand as Singapore ages.

The Career Resourcing and Development of Allied Health Talents (CREATE) scheme works by gathering qualified people - mainly fresh graduates - and matching them with organisations who need them.

It was piloted in August last year by the Ministry of Health Holdings (MOHH), the holding firm of public health- care assets, and has since helped St Luke's Hospital, Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital and Changi General Hospital recruit nine therapists.

An MOHH spokesman said the scheme is especially helpful to smaller community hospitals, nursing homes and day rehabilitation centres that may not require full-time therapists.

Singapore now has some 1,100 such therapists in the public and long-term care sectors. Another 650 are needed by 2020 as more health-care facilities are in the pipeline.

The scheme hires therapists for the intermediate and long-term care sector (ILTC).

Foreigners are welcome. In fact, they get a one-time allowance to help deal with relocation expenses, on top of a monthly housing allowance to offset accommodation costs.

St Luke's Hospital said CREATE allowed it to skip several steps in the hiring process, such as in advertising and shortlisting applicants. It only had to interview them.

"The scheme has helped us to save time and cost, because MOHH has already screened and shortlisted suitable potential candidates before referring them to us for interviewing," said a spokesman for the community hospital, which cares for 160 patients a day.

Ms Lilian Chew, director of human resource at Changi General Hospital, said the scheme maximises the public hospital's recruitment resources as it "takes care of the recruitment activities, interview and selection of candidates".

More centres are likely to join the voluntary scheme from next year, said the MOHH spokesman.

Over the next five years, the Health Ministry aims to build a pool of about 50 therapists through this method. They include occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech therapists.

Most of the recent hires are foreigners, like Ms Wei Yun-Chieh, 24, from Taiwan.

"I liked the idea of going overseas for work, because it's a good learning experience in terms of being independent," said the occupational therapist, who started working at St Luke's Hospital last December.

MOHH holds recruitment fairs abroad in countries such as Britain and Australia.

They target not just qualified allied health workers but also students pursuing degrees in health sciences.

New degree courses in health care
By Pearl Lee, The Straits Times, 2 Nov 2012

FOR the first time, full-time degree courses in physiotherapy and occupational therapy are available in Singapore.

Both one-year degree courses are the result of a tripartite partnership involving the Singapore Institute of Technology, Trinity College Dublin and Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).

The courses, which started in September, are offered to diploma holders. They are conducted at NYP, the only local institution offering diploma courses in physiotherapy and occupational therapy.

Previously, students who completed diploma courses in these fields and wanted to further their studies had to go abroad to do so.

The launch of the two degree programmes comes as the health-care sector faces a shortage in allied health professionals, including physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

At the official signing ceremony of the three institutions on Oct 29, the guest of honour, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, said there is a need for Singapore to grow its allied health manpower pool in order to meet the health-care needs of a rapidly ageing population and the rising incidence of chronic diseases.

The inaugural cohort consists of 51 students in the physiotherapy course and 32 students in the occupational therapy course. All 83 of them previously read diploma courses in physiotherapy and occupational therapy at NYP.

One of them is Ms Emily Koh, 37. She worked as a foreign exchange trader in a bank but is now pursuing a degree course in occupational therapy.

She said: "It is my passion and dream to work with children with special needs... I hope to go into paediatrics in future."