Changi care facility nurses claim shifts cancelled less than 2 hours before, management reviewing practices
Due to the nature of their jobs, locum nurses work on flexible schedules, which may lead to uncertainties in nursing assignments.
Unfortunately, things went a bit too far for locum nurses at the Transitional Care Facility (TCF) @ East in Changi, when their shifts were allegedly cancelled as late as 1 hour 51 minutes before.
This apparently happened several times, according to a Stomper who is aware of the situation.
Locum nurses’ confirmed shifts allegedly cancelled at short notice
According to Stomper S, who spoke to Stomp at the end of August, multiple nurses had received “last-minute cancellation messages” shortly before the scheduled start time of confirmed shifts.
One screenshot showed such a message sent at 6.54pm, asking a nurse not to report for the PM shift on Aug 24. S shared that the PM shift typically starts at 8.45pm.
Several other instances showed shifts being cancelled from as early as 10 hours before to as late as two hours before they were meant to start.
In all cases, the reason for the cancellation was simple — that there was “sufficient manpower” for that night.
Some messages apologised for the inconvenience and all of them thanked the nurses for their “kind understanding”.
Possible ‘double standard’ in confirming and cancelling shifts
S claims that there’s a “possible double standard” in nurses being expected to confirm or cancel their shifts in advance, while their shifts were being cancelled at the last minute.
One message instructed nurses to provide at least two days’ notice when cancelling a shift, so a replacement could be found in time.
It added: “Last-minute cancellations without sufficient notice and without valid supporting documentation may incur a penalty, unless due to genuine unforeseen circumstances.”
While the message did not explicitly state the penalty, S alleged that it could cost a nurse one full shift’s pay.
“Nurses are expected to honour confirmed shifts and can lose one shift’s pay for cancelling at short notice, while the facility can cancel a confirmed shift only a few hours — sometimes as little as 2 hours — before commencement,” she noted.
For nurses who had turned down other shifts or made plans based on their confirmed shifts, this could result in a loss of income.
Expressing her frustration, S said: “I understand that healthcare facilities may have legitimate operational reasons to adjust staffing. However, if this is a recurring practice, I believe it raises questions about whether there should be a clear and reciprocal cancellation policy that applies fairly to both facilities and locum nurses.”
Changi care facility management reviewing current shift practices
In response to Stomp’s queries, PanCare Medical, which manages TCF@East, conveyed its regret for the inconvenience caused.
“We recognise that short-notice cancellation of accepted shifts can be disruptive for locum nurses, who may have made work or personal arrangements in advance. We acknowledge the importance of clearer and more timely communication, and regret any inconvenience caused.”
The management explained that PanCare engages a third-party employment agency to supplement its nursing manpower when required.
Manpower needs and changes are communicated to the agency, which manages the deployment of locum nurses and communicates roster updates to them.
“As part of its manpower deployment arrangements, a small contingency buffer of available nurses may be maintained to manage sudden and unpredictable changes in staffing requirements, such as when a scheduled nurse becomes unavailable at short notice. Where such arrangements exist, PanCare is committed to ensuring that affected nurses are informed of their status clearly and as early as operationally possible,” the management elaborated.
Hoping to minimise inconveniences, PanCare is working with the agency to review existing practices around shift management.
Healthcare institutions decide on schedules based on staffing needs: MOH
Meanwhile, a Ministry of Health (MOH) spokesperson shared that there are no national requirements governing compensation arrangements for cancelled work schedules.
Schedules are decided based on healthcare institutions’ operational and staffing needs.
The spokesperson added: “MOH understands from the operator of the Transitional Care Facility concerned that the contractual agreements in this case do not provide for notice periods or compensation arrangements when a scheduled shift is cancelled.”
Nevertheless, the operator has assured MOH that cancelling planned locum shifts “is not standard practice” and it will “continue to take staffing requirements and operational needs into account when planning shift allocations.”
When contacted by Stomp on Sept 14, S said that there have been no last-minute shift cancellations in recent weeks.
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