Singapore
SCDF to hire foreigners for emergency medical services from March 2025
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will begin hiring foreigners to support its emergency medical services (EMS) workforce from March 2025, citing a growing demand due to the ageing population. Foreign recruits will undergo rigorous training to meet SCDF’s standards.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) announced on Tuesday (18 Feb) that it will begin hiring foreigners to supplement its emergency medical services (EMS) workforce from March 2025.
The decision comes in response to increasing demand for EMS, driven largely by Singapore’s ageing population.
SCDF noted in a media factsheet that its current EMS workforce consists solely of Singapore citizens and permanent residents. However, a growing shortage of local manpower for paramedics and emergency medical technicians has necessitated the move to recruit foreign personnel.
The demand for emergency medical services has surged over the past decade. In 2024, SCDF responded to 245,279 EMS calls, averaging about 672 calls per day.
This represents a 57% increase compared to 2014. Notably, almost half of these calls involved patients aged 65 and above. SCDF expects call volumes to continue rising beyond 2025.
To address this increasing demand, SCDF has been expanding its ambulance fleet and implementing operational measures.
These include engaging private ambulance operators since 2009, introducing a tiered-response framework in 2017 to prioritise cases based on severity, and implementing a non-dispatch policy in 2023 to limit ambulance deployment to actual emergencies.
As reported by CNA, speaking at an event at HomeTeamNS Khatib on Tuesday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said SCDF would initially recruit EMS personnel from other Southeast Asian countries. If necessary, the hiring pool would be expanded beyond the region.
SCDF assured that Singaporeans would remain the majority of its workforce. It also emphasised that all foreign hires would undergo rigorous training to meet SCDF’s EMS standards and protocols.
“We will ensure that the foreign hires provide a level of service and professionalism that is in accordance with SCDF’s EMS protocols,” the agency stated.
SCDF highlighted that its approach aligns with broader strategies used in the healthcare sector, where foreign manpower is employed to meet increasing service demands.
The move is seen as a necessary step to ensure Singapore’s EMS remains well-equipped to handle the growing number of medical emergencies.
