The Ministry of Health (MoH), Public Service Division (PSD), and the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalise the commitment to collaborate on manpower planning and deployment for future national crises, building on the collaboration started in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes training SIA and Scoot cabin crew volunteers in peacetime, so that they are ready to step up and take on various healthcare support roles as part of the national response for future crisis situations. 

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, various public agencies and healthcare institutions in Singapore urgently needed manpower reinforcements to support the national fight against the pandemic.

The SG Healthcare Corps will facilitate the training and deployment of around 50 SIA and Scoot cabin crew, who will volunteer their time as SIA Group Ambassadors at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital and Changi General Hospital from April 2024. These SIA Group Ambassadors will be part of a pool of around 200 trained SG Healthcare Corps care volunteers who will serve alongside the healthcare workforce to meet the needs of patients. 

Formalising this MoU to build the reserve healthcare workforce is part of the government's efforts to prepare for another pandemic. This is on top of other initiatives, such as the setting up of a new Communicable Diseases Agency, strengthening hospital capacity, and boosting pandemic preparedness and response through global surveillance.