‘Who will care for the patients?’: Veteran of 3 viral outbreaks refuses family pleas to leave front-line role

SINGAPORE — Madam Nurul Aisyah, 59, has found herself working on the front lines of viral outbreaks here not once but thrice in her 19 years as a housekeeper at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

Despite pleas from her family in Malaysia to return home, Mdm Aisyah remains determined to perform her duties and help keep patients safe from the latest outbreak: Covid-19.

And while Covid-19 is undoubtedly the most consequential, and has taken a heavy toll around the world, Mdm Aisyah is experiencing a sense of deja vu, to some extent, having seen this sort of emergency twice before.

The two previous viral outbreaks of note were the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003 and H1N1 in 2009. Like Covid-19, Sars was a coronavirus, and though it was less contagious, it was more deadly, with 238 cases and 33 deaths.

H1N1, also known as swine flu, infected more than 400,000 people in Singapore over the course of a year, causing 18 deaths.

Although many of Mdm Aisyah’s colleagues from the same cleaning company quit their jobs during these crises for fear of catching the various viruses, she has been resolute about not leaving her ward in the lurch.

Even when her aged mother and four grown children begged her to return to their Taman Jaya home in Johor Baru after Covid-19 cases in Singapore soared in March, Mdm Aisyah, a Malaysian national, was firm in saying no to their pleas.

“My mother called me every day on the phone, crying and begging me to go back. I said, 'Mother, I love you and I will return one day, but now is not the time',” she recounted as her voice wavered with emotion.

“If I go back now, my heart feels no good. Who is going to take care of these patients?”

The grandmother of four could well choose to retire, since her children, who are aged between 25 and 39, are self-sufficient. She has reasons to return home, too — her 81-year-old mother, who resides in Pahang, has been battling stomach cancer for the past six years.

Yet, in times of crises and confusion, Mdm Aisyah’s priorities remained clear: The patients.

“During Sars, many of my friends ran away because they were scared. They said to me, ‘Eh, faster lah, let’s go back’. They kept telling me stories to make me afraid, but I was not scared. If everyone runs away, who will be here to care for the patients?” she said.

Valiant as she sounds, Mdm Aisyah said she draws confidence from following protocols, such as wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and washing her hands regularly, which has enabled her to survive working in a high-risk environment.

“As long as you put on goggles, wash your hands after returning from the patients’ room and follow the steps, nothing will happen. Don’t worry,” she said confidently.

For the past 15 years, Mdm Aisyah has been working at SGH’s Ward 48 — designated for cancer patients. She begins her day at 7.30am and toils until 3.45pm. Whenever her supervisor requires assistance, she works overtime until as late as 9.30pm.

As a housekeeper, her duty is to keep her ward’s toilets, beds and rooms spick and span. But tending to cancer patients is not an easy feat, she explained, as they have difficulty controlling their bowels.

Even during lunchtime, Mdm Aisyah often gets called by patients to help. Once, a patient left a trail of faeces from the toilet to his bed.

“I quickly mopped the floor, but after seeing that, I can’t continue eating anymore,” she said.

“After I cleaned up, the patient was very happy. He kept saying 'thank you' to me. I felt very good. Whenever patients say 'thank you', I feel like doing more for them.

“But after a few minutes, I got called again to do some more wiping. Sometimes, when I think of this, I laugh. Sometimes, I feel very sad. I know they don’t want this to happen,” she explained.

Knowing that the patient felt bad, Mdm Aisyah told him that she will attend to him, no matter how many times he calls. To her surprise, he then clasped his palms together and started thanking her in a manner that left her feeling greatly appreciated.

“My heart felt so good. I felt that God is arranging everything, for me to be here,” she said. 

Besides patients, Mdm Aisyah added that it was the rapport she has established with fellow healthcare workers that kept her going.

“Sometimes, I work until 9.30pm. However, the (long hours) mean nothing. I want to take care of the patients more, because I know they love me. I work so hard already and for so many hours, but I never think about how difficult it is.

“I know the patients, staff nurses and doctors love me. When doctors greet me ‘good morning, Nurul Aisyah’, my heart is so happy. I am just a housekeeper,” she added.

Mdm Aisyah then reiterated that this was the reason she could not accede to her family’s request and return to Johor Baru.

“I am not scared of Covid, I was also not scared of Sars. Now I don’t want to return because why? Now I have to care for the patients by mopping and cleaning,” she repeated.

“If I go now, who will want to take care of the patients?”

With the outbreak of Covid-19, Mdm Aisyah has been rostered to clean more often — twice the amount required under her usual schedule.

Having to wear the PPE for eight hours a day has also caused her to become more exhausted by the end of the day. Moreover, fasting during the holy month of Ramadan has meant that she has to get up by 5am every day to pray and eat.

“Last time, I am not this tired. Nowadays when I go back, I will eat and sleep. Sometimes, when my children call, I cannot answer the phone because I am so tired, but I don’t want to tell them. I am very tired, but I am still not scared,” she said.

Since her children are all working adults, with her youngest daughter 25 years old, Mdm Aisyah said she is not working for financial commitments, but out of the desire to serve patients.

“I told my patients even if you vomit or (excrete) 10 times, I will come and clean up. Don’t worry, this is our job. Ten times you call me, 10 times I will come.”