20 August 2020 – Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) have partnered together on a range of specialised training services for the Singapore-based healthcare institution. Starting in September, SIA will commence customer service training for KTPH’s new Patient Care Officers (PCO) a role that was inspired by the Care Ambassadors programme that KTPH and SIA jointly launched in April.
The PCO is a new service professional role that works closely with doctors, nurses and allied health staff to provide quality care service, caregiving and end-to-end care coordination for patients in the ward.
Ms Yen Tan, Chief Operating Officer, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, said: “We have had a fruitful journey with SIA’s Care Ambassadors, who often put in the extra mile to work with our nurses, helping us to provide care good enough for our loved ones. After experiencing healthcare, many Care Ambassadors have expressed to us the joy of serving patients in healthcare. Their enthusiasm and dedication to service inspired us to create a new role – Patient Care Officer. This role will support the clinical work of the nurses and allows our hospitals to provide better end-to-end care for patients. This crisis showed us that there are people who want to serve in healthcare, but they are waiting for the right opportunity. We look forward to building on the success of our collaboration with the signing of today’s MOU, as we bring our service training and crew resource management to the next level.”
SIA will create the programme in collaboration with KTPH and tailor it for the healthcare institution’s requirements. The Airline’s cabin crew trainers will conduct a three-day course, which will be part of the 20-day overall training curriculum for the PCOs. During the three days, they will receive training in effective interpersonal communication and customer handling, and learn how to exemplify values such as empathy, warmth and person-centred care.
Ms Vanessa Ng, Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President of Human Resources, said: “SIA has an excellent relationship with Yishun Health, which was the first partner for our SIA Care Ambassador programme. This agreement is also recognition of the exemplary work of our staff who have worked in various Ambassador roles starting in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital over the last few months. SIA’s comprehensive training courses are the key enabler of our world class in-flight service and renowned customer experience. We may all be behind masks due to the pandemic, but our signature personal touch and intuitive care remains the key differentiator in the service industry. SIA can support companies and organisations with our experience and expertise in this area, and adapt our courses to meet their specific customer and industry requirements.”
This is the first time that SIA is extending its training and development services outside the organisation. The agreements cement the spirit of cooperation between SIA and KTPH, which began in April 2020 when the Airline’s first Care Ambassadors began to support the care teams in the hospital. To date, 60 Care Ambassadors from the SIA Group have been deployed to KTPH.
SIA and KTPH are also exploring other potential areas of collaboration beyond the service sector. This includes the possible application of SIA’s crew resource management practices – a wide range of skills that are used to enhance flight safety and reduce human error – to KTPH’s operations.
