About 30 Parkway Shenton staff - including doctors, pharmacists, nurses and healthcare assistants - have been working tirelessly at various dormitories in Singapore.

This is part of private healthcare group Parkway Pantai's efforts to support the government in curbing the spread of Covid-19, in addition to caring for Covid-19 patients at their hospital facilities.

On-site medical care

Speaking to Mothership, a spokesperson said that the Parkway Shenton team has been working hard to conduct swab tests on the workers at the designated area.

They have been providing medical services at Factory Converted Dormitories (FCD) since April 17, 2020.

The medical workers provide daily on-site medical attention and Covid-19 swabbing to around 150 to 200 patients daily.

Roving teams hustle from dormitories to dormitories

In addition to the onsite static team, three roving teams have been visiting different dormitories to provide medical care and swab tests.

They cover dormitories from Tuas in the west, Woodlands/Kranji area in the North to Punggol/Sengkang in the East.

Each roving team is transported by two vehicles and an ambulance.

"There has been a high number of reported cases of infected workers in the dorms each day in Singapore, but our brave colleagues steel themselves for the tough fight and took it upon themselves to support national efforts", the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that "the team plays a critical role in early detection of suspect cases to prevent further transmission to fellow workers in the dormitories".

Fulfilling experience despite challenges

Both Yvonne Liang, senior staff nurse at Mount Elizabeth Novena (Executive Health Screening), and Lee Wei Xian, senior pharmacist at Gleneagles Hospital, found the massive first-of-its-kind operation to be a fulfilling experience, despite the challenges involved.

Liang said that the weather and the changing environment is a constant challenge to the medical workers.

For instance, they have to improvise at different on-site clinics to ensure medical safety and quality.

She was particularly moved by the words of appreciation from the workers.

Liang said,

"This is a fulfilling job because we often get personal thanks and gratitude from workers who are sick. One of them came up to us with tears fearing for his livelihood. We were able to reassure him that he will be given the best treatment available in Singapore."

Pharmacist Lee mentioned the language barrier as one of the main challenges they faced during their operations.

This is the reason why some medical staff were not able to serve on-site as much as they wanted.

However, that did not deter these healthcare workers from helping.

They made laminated cards with Bengali translations on medication counselling points.

These are "lifesaver(s) for the pharmacist on the ground" as they made the dispensing process much more efficient and effective, Lee said.

Lee also shared that the role of pharmacists on the ground is more than just dispensing medicine.

During their interaction with the foreign workers, pharmacists like Lee also attend to the concerns that these workers have and soothe their anxiety with words of assurance.

"Some of the workers were worried that if they were diagnosed as Covid-19 positive, they would be sent back to their countries and not work in Singapore anymore. You could see the anxiety and worries they had not only for their health but also their livelihood. We reassured them that they will be taken care of regardless of the results. Many of them were grateful as they thanked us for our service with a smile."

Mount Elizabeth Hospital doctor, Shawn Ng, has been volunteering at the dormitories for a few weekends.

“I am honoured to be able to serve our community in the capacity of a medical professional in these difficult times," Ng said.

Although everyone is working away from the familiar setting of a hospital, Ng is heartened to see the amount of hard work put in to "set up everything from scratch" to care for the foreign workers.

Kudos to all medical workers!

Top photos courtesy of Parkway Shenton.