Decline in rate of doctors leaving public sector following pay review

SINGAPORE — The percentage of public sector doctors leaving for the private sector has fallen over the last three years, from 6.5 per cent in 2011 to 5.8 per cent as of last year, Minister of State (Health) Lam Pin Min said in Parliament today (April 13).

This comes after the Ministry of Health (MOH) worked with the public healthcare institutions to implement a new pay framework for doctors in two phases in 2012 and last year. The MOH previously announced that senior doctors and dentists in the public sector will get a 9 per cent pay rise.

Responding to a question filed by Nominated Member of Parliament Benedict Tan on the outcome of the latest salary review for public sector doctors, Dr Lam also noted that the number of doctors working in the public sector have risen. Between 2011 and last year, this figure has grown by 34 per cent to about 6,500.

“Following the review, our public healthcare institutions are now more aligned in terms of principles and structures of doctors’ remuneration while retaining some flexibility to manage individual packages for talent retention purposes,” he said.

Dr Lam pointed out that the public sector offers unique opportunities that the private sector does not typically offer, such as mentoring and research opportunities. The public sector also has professional and personal growth avenues for doctors, and there are efforts to improve their work environment such as shorter rotating shifts and adoption of technology to reduce the administrative workload.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article attributed remarks on the percentage of public sector doctors leaving for the private sector to Health Minister Gan Kim Yong. This is incorrect. The response in Parliament was made by Minister of State (Health) Lam Pin MIn.