MOH has responded to an open letter by healthcare professionals asking why they were not awarded the Covid Resilience medal. In its response, it outlined the criteria for qualifying for the award and stated that the nomination process was ‘rigorous’. Yet, healthcare workers were still confused about why they did not get the award.
The eligibility criteria MOH set was that the individual must have consistently managed exceptionally high workload during the covid-19 pandemic. MOH also stated that leaders and organisations receive the award on behalf of the whole team.
However, even with MOH’s clarification of the criteria, several healthcare workers, whose responses were published on @thehonesthealthcareworker‘s Instagram stories, observed inconsistencies and found the selection process unfair. Some pointed out that colleagues who were on long leave still received the award. On the other hand those who worked hard but did not stay throughout the whole period were left out.
Clearly, MOH’s statement did not do much to clarify anything and give closure to those who did not receive the Covid Resilience award despite their personal sacrifices and contributions during the pandemic. It still seems unfair to our healthcare heroes. That leaders and senior management are supposed to receive the award on behalf of the entire team does not make things look better.
If MOH thought the matter would rest with a PR statement, they couldn’t be any more mistaken. More questions have arisen following its ‘explanation’ and MOH has dug an even bigger hole for itself. MOH should properly address the issue about how recognition is given.
