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9 in 10 healthcare workers received Covid-19 Resilience Medal, 'very small number' disqualified due to disciplinary record

SINGAPORE — Around 91 per cent of 68,600 workers in Singapore public healthcare institutions were identified as eligible recipients of the Covid-19 Resilience Medal, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung revealed on Tuesday (Jan 9). 

9 in 10 healthcare workers received Covid-19 Resilience Medal, 'very small number' disqualified due to disciplinary record
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  • Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that 91 per cent of 68,600 Singapore's public healthcare workers were conferred the Covid-19 Resilience Medal
  • A small number were disqualified due to disciplinary records, but those who feel deserving and had missed out can appeal to the Ministry of Health
  • The Government aimed for inclusivity in awarding the medal, with no set quotas
  • Outsourced workers, like cleaners and porters, were also included in the nomination process, resulting in around 2,000 receiving the medal

SINGAPORE — Around 91 per cent of 68,600 workers in Singapore's public healthcare institutions received the Covid-19 Resilience Medal, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung revealed on Tuesday (Jan 9). 

The remaining did not receive the award mainly because they had not contributed "substantially or on a sustained basis" towards the pandemic within the specified period of contribution, he added.

A "very small number" were disqualified due to their disciplinary records.

Mr Ong said it is possible that some employers may have missed submitting their staff's names for nomination. 

"Individuals who feel they are deserving but have missed out on the (medal) can write to MOH (Ministry of Health), and we will review their appeals with their employers accordingly," he said in a written answer to an oral question filed by several Members of Parliament. 

Associate Professor Jamus Lim (WP-Sengkang) had asked whether MOH would consider a channel for appeal by individuals who missed out on the Covid-19 Resilience Medal. 

Non-Constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) Leong Mun Wai, Mr Yip Hon Weng (PAP-Yio Chu Kang) and Dr Tan Wu Meng (PAP-Jurong) also filed related questions on the number of recipients, whether outsourced workers were awarded and for what reasons did certain workers fail to receive the medal. 

The list of awardees was published in the Government Gazette on the Prime Minister’s Office website on May 31 last year. 

As overcoming the pandemic was a concerted national effort, Mr Ong said the Government's approach in conferring the medal was to be inclusive with no set quotas. 

Individuals were nominated by their employers based on the eligibility criteria, which dictate that the recipient must have made substantial contributions on a sustained basis during the pandemic in these aspects: 

  • Managing the public health crisis at the frontlines
  • Supporting frontline operations, such as vaccination, testing, managing dorms or recovery facilities
  • Managing the consequences of Covid-19 on Singapore’s economy, supply chains or social cohesion

"As the (Covid-19 resilience medal) is a national-level award, individuals with criminal records and public service officers with disciplinary records and within the debarment periods are also disqualified," he noted. 

Mr Ong also said that outsourced workers, such as cleaners, porters and patient care assistants, were included in the nomination process.

About 2,000 of them were given the medal. 

Last December, an anonymous group of healthcare workers penned an open letter to MOH and Mr Ong, questioning why many frontliners in Singapore's fight against the crisis were excluded from the award.

A second letter was also published, urging the ministry to set up a channel to let "all forgotten (healthcare workers)" come forward to be "rightfully recognised". 

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