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The number of staff in the Intermediate and Long-Term Care sector

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan
MP for Pioneer SMC

Question No. 744

To ask the Minister for Health for each of the years from 2010 to 2020 (a) how many people are working in the Intermediate and Long-Term Care sector; and (b) what is the breakdown for such persons in terms of whether they are in full-time or part-time employment, educational qualifications, age, gender and number who are Singaporeans and non-Singaporeans. 

Written Answer

1 From 2010 to 2020, the overall number of staff1 in the Intermediate and Long Term Care (ILTC) sector2 increased fourfold, from around 3,200 to 16,550. The breakdown of staff by their age, gender and citizenship status across the years is provided in Table 1.  The data from ILTC providers does not cover educational qualifications.  Data on work arrangement (i.e. full-time or part-time) is available only for registered professionals using data from their respective professional boards3 from 2018 onwards.   

Table 1: Number of staff in ILTC sector (2010 – 2020)4

Breakdown

Year

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Work Arrangement (for registered professions only)5

Full-Time

Data unavailable across all registered professions

5,850

6,140

6,240

96%

96%

96%

Part-Time

240

230

250

4%

4%

4%

Sub-Total

6,090

6,370

6,490

100%

100%

100%

Sex

Male

760

1,020

1,360

1,870

2,350

2,930

3,440

3,900

4,130

4,550

4,620

23.8%

24.3%

24.3%

24.5%

25.7%

26.8%

27.5%

27.6%

27.0%

27.8%

27.9%

Female

2,370

3,090

4,100

5,610

6,640

7,840

8,990

10,140

10,840

11,810

11,920

74.1%

73.6%

73.3%

73.4%

72.6%

71.7%

72.0%

71.8%

70.8%

72.1%

72.0%

Incomplete data

60

90

130

170

150

160

70

70

350

10

10

1.9%

2.1%

2.3%

2.2%

1.6%

1.5%

0.6%

0.5%

2.3%

0.1%

0.1%

Age (as at end of the year)

Below 20

10

10

20

10

10

20

10

20

40

40

0

0.3%

0.2%

0.4%

0.1%

0.1%

0.2%

0.1%

0.1%

0.3%

0.2%

0.0%

20 to 29

870

1,280

1,870

2,690

3,300

3,850

4,140

4,260

4,620

4,590

3,890

27.2%

30.5%

33.5%

35.2%

36.1%

35.2%

33.1%

30.2%

30.2%

28.0%

23.5%

30 to 39

900

1,120

1,390

1,840

2,200

2,680

3,270

3,990

5,060

5,970

6,560

28.1%

26.7%

24.9%

24.1%

24.0%

24.5%

26.2%

28.3%

33.0%

36.5%

39.6%

40 to 49

490

600

790

1,040

1,260

1,440

1,680

1,920

2,240

2,440

2,570

15.3%

14.3%

14.1%

13.6%

13.8%

13.2%

13.5%

13.6%

14.6%

14.9%

15.5%

50 to 59

450

540

650

840

990

1,100

1,240

1,400

1,650

1,860

1,950

14.1%

12.9%

11.6%

11.0%

10.8%

10.1%

9.9%

9.9%

10.8%

11.4%

11.8%

60 and above

190

240

330

470

590

690

830

960

1,150

1,350

1,470

5.9%

5.7%

5.9%

6.2%

6.4%

6.3%

6.6%

6.8%

7.5%

8.2%

8.9%

Incomplete data

290

400

540

750

790

1140

1330

1560

560

120

110

9.1%

9.5%

9.7%

9.8%

8.6%

10.4%

10.6%

11.0%

3.7%

0.7%

0.7%

Citizenship Status

Singaporeans and Permanent Residents

1,640

1,940

2,370

3,140

3,730

4,430

5,090

5,850

6,490

7,120

7,430

51%

46%

42%

41%

41%

41%

41%

41%

42%

43%

45%

Foreigners

1,560

2,260

3,220

4,500

5,420

6,500

7,400

8,270

8,830

9,250

9,120

49%

54%

58%

59%

59%

59%

59%

59%

58%

57%

55%

Total

3,200

4,200

5,590

7,640

9,150

10,930

12,490

14,120

15,320

16,370

16,550

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%



[1] Includes doctors, dentists, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists, support care staff, administrative and ancillary staff.

[2] Includes MOH-subvented community hospitals, nursing homes, centre-based services, hospices, home care services, dialysis services, and others (e.g. psychiatric rehabilitation homes and diabetic education & care services).

[3] Registered professionals include to doctors, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech-language therapists, diagnostic radiographers, radiation therapists, and pharmacists only. The professional boards include Singapore Medical Council, Singapore Nursing Board, Singapore Dental Council, Allied Health Professionals Council, and Singapore Pharmacy Council. Data across all registered professions are only available from 2018.

[4] Figures for gender, age and citizenship status are in Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) rounded to the nearest 10, based on submissions from MOH-subvented ILTC service provides (incl. government-owned community hospitals and nursing homes) as of end December each year. Figures are self-reported and unaudited. Figures may not add up across the columns due to rounding.

[5] Figures for work arrangement are in headcounts rounded to the nearest 10, based on data from the professional boards as at end December each year. Figures are self-reported and unaudited.

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