Voices from the Front Lines: Putting aside my anxiety to give hope to migrant workers, support battle against Covid-19

As the fight against Covid-19 will be a long-drawn one, TODAY’s Voices section hopes to shine a light on the triumphs and struggles of Singapore’s front-line workers by publishing their first-hand accounts.

In this instalment of Voices from the Front Lines, Dr Benjamin Wee Chong Yaw, a dental officer with the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics, talks about how he had to switch from looking into people’s mouths to looking up patients’ noses while doing swab tests for migrant workers.

When I was first called upon to be part of the mass swabbing team that moved from location to location to conduct swab tests for migrant workers, I was initially anxious because I was stepping into a role that posed an infection risk.

However, a sense of purpose quickly took over, as I know that this is important in the battle against Covid-19.

I was further reassured when I received excellent training on the swabbing procedure from my nursing colleagues. They were also kind to offer continued encouragement and guidance when I was facing my own anxieties for the first few swabs.

Dental officers in the polyclinic typically work in a comfortable air-conditioned and sheltered environment, performing scaling, fillings and extractions without breaking a drop of perspiration.

In contrast, swabbing assignments for migrant workers are conducted outdoors, usually at the dormitories where they stay, with the fans turned off as an infection control measure. On good days, there may be a gentle breeze, but often -times, it is relatively warm.

The swabbing team usually gathers at 7am to transport our equipment to the assigned location. By the time we set up the site, there will be a queue of migrant workers waiting to be registered and tested.

While waiting for their nasopharyngeal swab, I can clearly see that some of them look nervous. For most of them, the swab test would not be their first time and the discomfort from the previous experience might possibly still be fresh in their minds.

As the testing begins, the constant flow of patients leaves little room for my own anxiety. We can complete about 30 to 40 swabs in one hour, which is roughly about one swab every 90 seconds.

The swabbing speed and systematic procedures are essential to sustain this routine for weeks and possibly months.

Before the process is completed, the team also educates the migrant workers on the importance of practising good hand-hygiene and maintaining a clean and well-ventilated room.

Like our many healthcare colleagues working in the Covid-19 wards who wear a full personal protective equipment (PPE) for a long period of time, I can be drenched to my socks by the end of each swabbing exercise.

Despite the perspiration and discomfort, nobody removes their gowns until the last patient is attended to and the place is cleaned up.

Back in the dental clinic, this same team spirit is alive through the support from our colleagues, who are holding the fort while some of us are away.

I once came across a migrant worker who had done the swab test four times before and he asked me with a distinct tone of resignation, “How many more times?”

Despite trying my best to assuage him by saying, “Nose check, no pain, very fast!”, I could not help but feel a similar sense of helplessness for him.

That said, knowing that it is a national effort to contain and fight this pandemic, I still give my best to pass on that hope to them and the community to persevere in this collective fight during this challenging period.

ABOUT THE WRITER:

Dr Benjamin Wee Chong Yaw, 29, is a dental officer at Ang Mo Kio Polyclinic. He was first deployed to SCM Tuas Lodge dormitory on April 23, as part of the National Healthcare Group Polyclinics’ mass swabbing team.

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