S’pore Junior Doctor Says Healthcare Workers Need Better Support, ‘Thoughts & Prayers’ Aren’t Enough

Junior Doctor Urges Public To Keep Themselves Safe To Alleviate Pressure On Frontliners

While the Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone’s lives in one way or another, healthcare workers have arguably borne the brunt of the impact, facing the full effects of the disease everyday at work.

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Healthcare workers are facing both mental and physical fatigue as Covid-19 community cases surge into the 3,000s daily.

While there are social media campaigns that aim to encourage and help our frontliners to keep going, there’s only so much work one can do while facing daily strain.

One junior doctor in Singapore, who posts under a meme page on Instagram, has expressed their frustration at an ongoing Instagram campaign thanking frontliners.

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They said that what frontliners really need now is more kindness towards staff, instead of social media thanking that they can’t use to reduce their stress.

Junior doctor expresses frustration at “thank you” Instagram campaign

The junior doctor posted this image in a post on Sunday (10 Oct).

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The meme made reference to a hashtag started by The Straits Times, #STcovidheroes, on Instagram.

“Sorry, after over a year of Covid sacrifice… thought and prayers don’t cut it anymore,” the junior doctor said.

Instead, they asked for “better policies, better hospital administrators” and attitude change in the public towards healthcare workers.

Asks public to show support by being kind to healthcare workers

The junior doctor then said that there are ways to show support to healthcare workers, and the onus is on being safe.

Examples they gave were to:

• get vaccinated
• adhere to safe management measures
• only go to the hospital in case of a real emergency

Being kind to healthcare staff is also important.

They asked that they not be shouted at because of a long clinic wait time as they’ve probably missed lunch and held their pee for the last 5 hours.

Also, the public shouldn’t shout at the nurse for serving non-essential medicine late as she has an entire cubicle to attend to.

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They also asked that they not be upset when the therapist doesn’t work on Sunday, as they need rest too.

Frustration & staff showing through for healthcare staff

While the junior doctor has been vocal, they are definitely not the only one facing immense stress due to the pandemic.

As we near the end of 2021, the situation appears to be getting tougher and tougher.

While “thank you” campaigns on social media are well-intentioned, they serve as much purpose as standing at the window and clapping.

What healthcare workers need now are, if not a break, then changes that’ll help them out at their workplaces.

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Featured image adapted from Tan Tock Seng Hospital.