Rachel Wan Says Dad Died Alone In Singapore Because Hospital Was Understaffed
In July, Singaporean actors Edwin Goh and Rachel Wan shared that they had moved to Sydney, Australia.
Among their reasons for doing so were the city’s “great coffee”, “cooler weather”, and perhaps most importantly, “better work-life balance”.
Source: @edwininja on Instagram
Wan added that losing her father and best friend in the span of two months had really “opened [her] eyes” to how she’s spending her time on Earth.
Last Friday (25 Aug), the 26-year-old opened up about her father’s passing, claiming that he had died alone because the Singapore hospital he was in was understaffed.
Because of this, she believes that something needs to be changed about the culture of overworking here.
Differences between working as healthcare staff in Singapore & Australia
Wan began her Instagram video by saying that this is something she’s “been wanting to talk about . . . for a while now”.
“I came to Australia because I felt like there was a better work-life balance here,” she said. “And I discovered something recently that shook my world.”
Source: @iamrachelwan on Instagram
The ‘Kin’ star explained that she met a nurse who used to work in the Singapore hospital where Wan’s father passed away before moving to Australia like her.
There is apparently a huge difference between working life in the two countries.
For instance, Wan said a nurse could be assigned “up to 12 patients to handle at any one time” in Singapore.
On the other hand, nurses in Australia are limited to having six patients under their care.
Furthermore, staff have to rest for a certain number of hours before they can take on the next shift — a practice that reportedly doesn’t exist in Singapore.
Rachel Wan says Singapore hospital didn’t inform family when dad passed
Wan said she was triggered upon learning all this, as her father had “died all alone” in the hospital without anyone by his side.
Her touching tribute on Instagram suggests that he passed away sometime in March 2022.
Source: @iamrachelwan on Instagram
Recalling the day he died, she said doctors had transferred her dad from the emergency ward to the general ward because he hadn’t had much time left.
To be able to visit him, Wan and her family had to take a Covid-19 test to prove that they were negative, which was still required at hospitals at that time.
Sadly, her father passed away while they were still trying to get the tests done.
“No one even informed us,” Wan claimed. “We had to go up to the ward and discover his cold dead body alone in the ward with no staff around him.”
When she asked the doctor why no one called to give them the news, the doctor allegedly replied, “Sorry, because we were understaffed.”
“I felt this was important to share because I know this is not the only industry in Singapore that suffers [from] this,” Wan said.
Overworking is not an achievement. Having no work-life balance is not an achievement. Something about that has to change in Singapore.
In her caption, Wan added that it took her a lot of courage to share this and that she wishes someone had told her about this long ago.
“It would have saved me so much suffering. So I hope this helps some people too.”
She also clarified that it wasn’t Covid-19 that claimed her dad’s life. Her earlier post states that he had oesophageal cancer.
Netizens share their thoughts
Wan’s post drew a barrage of comments from netizens.
Many thanked her for sharing her story and said they experienced something similar with their loved ones.
Source: @iamrachelwan on Instagram
Nurses also came forward with their anecdotes of how challenging the working environment can be.
One said it was common to work extra hours and never have enough time to eat or sleep.
Source: @iamrachelwan on Instagram
On the other hand, some didn’t take too kindly to Wan’s comparison, pointing out that Singapore has it a lot better than many other countries.
They also said healthcare workers are trying to do their best for their patients and that they don’t want to be understaffed either.
Source: @iamrachelwan on Instagram
In response, Wan said her point is that Singaporeans aren’t even aware they don’t have a work-life balance.
Influencer and doctor Zoen Tay also chimed in with her two cents as someone who’s been in Sydney’s and Singapore’s healthcare systems.
She noted that while there’s “room for improvement” in both countries, there’s been a lot of improvement in fostering a healthier work-life balance for healthcare workers.
Source: @iamrachelwan on Instagram
“I certainly hope for more empathy towards our healthcare workers because not many may understand what we go through on a daily basis,” Tay wrote.
Wan replied, saying that her heart went out to nurses in Singapore when she learnt what they go through.
It also brought “some sort of healing” when she realised that the hospital staff didn’t “abandon” her father due to a lack of care but because of their workload.
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Featured image adapted from @iamrachelwan on Instagram.
