Tan Tock Seng Hospital to roll out flexi-shifts for nurses by end-2024

Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) will roll out a flexi-work arrangement for all 2,500 nurses in 27 inpatient wards by the end of 2024, making it the first public hospital to do so.

- Joyce Teo

Having piloted what it calls a liquid nursing initiative in October 2023 with 52 nurses in one ward, the hospital has so far introduced the arrangement to 200 nurses in four wards.

About 90 per cent of the nurses have opted for flexi-shifts, and at any one time, about 30 per cent to 40 per cent will be on flexi-shifts.

Typically, the nurses work three routine shifts a day, starting from 7am for the first eight-hour shift, to 8pm for the 12-hour night shift.

With this initiative, they can now opt for a mix of routine and flexible shifts each week, as long as they fulfil the 80-work-hour requirement every fortnight.

There are six flexible shifts, with variable start and finish times, as well as durations, to apply for. They range from four hours with flexible timing to seven hours from noon to 7pm, and the 12-hour shift from 7am to 7pm.

TTSH chief nurse Hoi Shu Yin said during a media briefing that the nature of nursing requires routine shifts, with handover done between each shift taking an hour or more, but this process has been shortened to around 15 minutes with the use of technology.