In light of COVID-19 pandemic that impacted airlines due to the travel restrictions and tightening of border controls, the employees who work for the airlines had to undergo pay cuts as well as a halt of service.
A batch of Singapore Airlines (SIA) cabin crew members will begin caring for hospital patients next week. According to the Straits Times, a total of 30 crew members will be redeployed as “care ambassadors” at the Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) in Yishun.
They will be assigned to low-risk wards as well as support hospital care teams to carry out basic caregiving procedures, nutritional care, as well as patient service management for patients. These general wards cater to patients with chronic diseases, heart disorders, and acute surgical conditions.
It had been reported that the cabin crew members will not have any direct contact with COVID-19 patients.
Yesterday (7 April), these care ambassadors had gone through medical screening, vaccinations, and hospital orientation. In the next five days, they will undergo training and be taught basic medical terminologies, vital signs monitoring, oral feeding, and also positioning, turning, and ambulating a patient.
One of the demonstrations shown to the care ambassadors was serving meals to the patients because this will be one of the basic tasks during their deployment at the hospital for a total of three months.
Besides, they will also be trained in safety and infection control measures, and will be required to wear surgical masks as they carry out their duties.
It has also been reported that these care ambassadors will be working at the hospital for nine hours per day as well as night shifts.
The chief nurse at KTPH, Shirley Heng, mentioned that this could be a great opportunity for both professions to exchange knowledge and skills in their respective fields.
“This is also a good opportunity for our nurses to exchange knowledge and skills on service with the crew of SIA, who are top service professionals. We hope that this will be a meaningful experience for them,” stated Ms Heng.
The collaboration between SIA and the hospital could help boost manpower needs as more healthcare workers have been assigned to handle COVID-19 related patients.
SIA’s senior vice-president cabin crew, Tan Pee Teck, expressed that he is proud of the airline staff who responded positively to the much-needed support for the healthcare workers in the frontlines.
“We are very proud of our cabin crew, who have responded positively to this call to meaningfully support our front-line staff at Singapore’s healthcare facilities,” noted Mr Tan.
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