'Rigorous' process in deciding who gets COVID-19 Resilience Medals, says MOH as it acknowledges whole-of-society effort in pandemic fight
A photo of a COVID-19 resilience medal. (Photo: Prime Minister's Office)
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- The Ministry of Health's approach in awarding the COVID-19 Resilience Medals was to be as inclusive as possible
- It also had to ensure that the process was rigorous, it said
- It acknowledged that not everyone who contributed to the country's fight against the pandemic may be awarded
- It said that it wanted to record its appreciation for all who helped and made sacrifices
- This was in response to an open letter calling for the ministry to recognise healthcare workers who were not awarded the medal
SINGAPORE: When deciding who was to get the COVID-19 Resilience Medal, the Ministry of Health (MOH) sought to be as inclusive as possible, while ensuring that standards were met and that the process was rigorous.
In so doing, MOH acknowledged on Wednesday (Dec 20) that not everyone who contributed to Singapore's fight against the infectious disease was awarded the medal.
"That is why we always emphasise that awards to leaders and organisations are always received for everyone who worked in the teams," it said, adding that it was a "whole-of-society" effort that allowed the country to emerge stronger from the pandemic.
The ministry was responding to TODAY's queries after an anonymous group of healthcare workers penned an open letter addressed to it, as well as Health Minister Ong Ye Kung, about why many pandemic frontliners were excluded from the award.
The letter, which was published by the Instagram account @thehonesthealthcareworker on Monday, also urged MOH to clarify the nomination process for the awards.
More than 110,000 people have been awarded COVID-19 Resilience Medals, which honour individuals and teams who have made substantive contributions to Singapore's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The medals were given out during a carnival event at the F1 Pit Building from Dec 10 to Dec 14.
One of the healthcare workers who runs the Instagram account told TODAY the group penned the letter after more than 100 frontline workers - including nurses, doctors, swabbers and social workers - contacted them about being left out of the awards.
The letter said: "We were providing direct care together on the front when Covid first hit us till it became endemic. We were here. How is it that we were forgotten?"
"We know in our hearts that we did our part ... All we wish for is to be recognised and remembered for the sacrifices we made ... so that our children will find our names when they look back one day and know that we served our country and did our duty when Singapore needed us most."
"MUST HAVE CONSISTENTLY MANAGED EXCEPTIONALLY HIGH WORKLOAD"
In its response to TODAY's queries, MOH said it took an approach to be as inclusive as possible when conferring the COVID-19 Resilience Medals while maintaining a rigorous nomination process.
There are also no quotas set on the number of people who received the award.
"Naturally, eligible criteria would need to be set," it added.
To qualify for the award, individuals must have, on a sustained basis during the pandemic, managed the public health crisis at the frontlines, supported frontline operations, such as vaccination, testing, managing dormitories or recovery facilities, or managed the consequences of COVID-19 on Singapore’s economy, supply chains or social cohesion, MOH said.
Public and private healthcare institutions and relevant industry partners were asked to submit their nominations from October last year to March this year to MOH.
"The nominating institution or agency must assess that the awardees had consistently managed exceptionally high workload due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with justification required for each nominee," MOH said.
On May 31, the list of awardees was published in the Government Gazette and on the Prime Minister’s Office website.
Between then and end-August, MOH added more awardees from the healthcare sector following their appeals for the COVID-19 Resilience Medal "in the spirit of being inclusive".
MOH did not mention how many more awardees were added during this stage.
It added that those who have yet to collect their medals, including former employees, will be contacted by their respective healthcare institutions and agencies to arrange for direct collection from these institutions.
MOH then stated that it wanted to put on record its thanks to all who have made contributions and sacrifices to keep Singapore safe.
"It was indeed a whole-of-society effort that has enabled Singapore to emerge stronger from the pandemic."
This story was first published on TODAY.