This week 20 flight stewardesses and 10 stewards from Singapore Airlines (SIA) have started caring for patients at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital instead of serving passengers inflight.
The team is being redeployed as “care ambassadors” at the public hospital in Yishun, being assigned to low-risk wards and supporting hospital basic care-giving procedures, nutritional care and patient service management.
They were given a five-day training course and taught basic medical terminology and procedures and will also be trained in safety and infection control measures. They will be equipped with masks, although they will have no direct contact with Covid-19 patients.
SIA Group has committed to providing at least 300 care ambassadors to various hospitals, depending on each hospital’s needs. Shirley Heng, chief nurse at KTPH, said: “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 this will be a meaningful experience for them.”
She added that the collaboration with SIA will help boost manpower needs, as more healthcare staff have been reassigned to care for COVID-19-related patients.
SIA leading steward Fabien Sieh, 32, who is in the first group, said: “I hope to learn from the healthcare workers and obtain skills that can make a difference to the lives and futures of myself and those around me.”
