A growing trend in the healthcare sector is an increasing use of mobile apps and platforms to match care providers to patients.
According to a recent study of the healthcare sector by NTUC’s Future Jobs, Skills and Training (FJST) Department, this has given rise to freelance opportunities for healthcare workers.
Freelance Caregivers
CaregiverAsia, which started in 2014, is an online platform which invites freelance caregivers such as doctors, nurses and therapists to post their services on line.
The number has grown to 1000 today from 12 when it first started in 2014, shared CaregiverAsia Chief Executive Officer Yeo Wan Ling.
Yassotha Krish, 23, who has been with CaregiverAsia for the past eight months started off her nursing career with a public hospital before deciding to switch to freelancing.
“My interest is in home nursing. This is where I can take care of the patient one-to-one, give them their medicine and teach them some basic exercises. “We also do simple cooking and housekeeping for them. There is also a demand for freelance nursing in private hospitals. Recently, I have taken up some assignments with these hospitals. My roster is fully booked,” said Ms Yassotha.
Caregiver Pool
Freelancers on CaregiverAsia come from various main sources such as doctors and nurses certified by the Health Ministry, retirees who work as medical escorts to accompany patients to and from hospitals and housewives who want to re-enter the workforce.
Before the freelancers take on assignments, they go through an online refresher course created by CaregiverAsia and NTUC LearningHub (LHUB).
“We have three online training modules for caregivers who don’t have formal training. They are on communications, hand hygiene and personal grooming,” said Mrs Yeo.
In April this year, they launched a Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) course for those interested to qualify as a bedside caregiver.
For the long term, CaregiverAsia wants to work with LHUB to offer more training opportunities in bedside caregiving.
It also wants to work with the Labour Movement’s U FSE (freelancers and self-employed) to promote caregiving as a means of a livelihood for Singaporeans.
More details on the services provided by CaregiverAsia can be found at www.caregiverasia.com or www.caregivernanny.com
Source: NTUC This Week
