Shintaro Tay

By Shintaro Tay

When an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome occurred in 2003, Dr Lawrence Lam, 34, was a junior college student who never imagined being on the front lines of an epidemic.

Today, however, he is a family physician at Pioneer Polyclinic in Jurong West and on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak, which has upended the clinic's routine.

Patients with fever and respiratory symptoms are now segregated in the fever zone, while the remaining patients are placed in the non-fever zone. He works on rotation between the zones.

When working in the fever zone, he has to don personal protective equipment and is mostly confined to the polyclinic, instead of the normal office attire and surgical mask that he wears when he is working in the non-fever zone.

In February, one of his patients was confirmed to have Covid-19.

Immediately, he sent a text to his wife Ang Pei Yi, 33.

"She was a little bit shocked when I told her," said Dr Lam. "I asked whether she wanted to stay at her parents' place for the time being, but she said 'no, it's fine'."

Ms Ang, an accountant, said: "I was worried, but I trust that he takes good care to protect himself and the people around him. We are in this together."

As a precaution, Dr Lam stayed home for a week. His worried parents checked in on him regularly.

Since then, the couple, who do not have children, have continued to spend most of their free time at home cooking, watching television or reading. Dr Lam has also gone back to work.

"Being a doctor in a polyclinic, you get to see the widest variety of Singaporeans from all income groups and walks of life with no discrimination," he said.

Many are elderly patients with multiple medical conditions.

Housewife Nurul Jannah Abdullah, 48, is a regular patient as she has psoriasis, a skin condition.

She said: "Not many doctors serve me like he does. He makes me feel very comfortable, just like any normal person and not like a sick person. He makes me feel like he is a friend or family member I can talk about anything with."

Dr Lam said his approach with elderly patients was shaped by his own experience caring for his paternal grandfather, who died five years ago.

In his work, Dr Lam also teaches younger doctors at the polyclinic.

One of them, Dr Valerie Teoh, 26, said: "He's very helpful and sometimes if I have questions, he will stay after work to go through things. I really appreciate this."

However, Dr Lam's routine of travelling to the National University Hospital to coach his juniors for their medical examination has stopped, as medical staff may not cross institutions now.

He also worked with a team of doctors on a paper published in a medical journal that aims to inform doctors of the possibility of a false positive dengue test in Covid-19 patients.

The recent spike in cases has been a worry, he said, but he remains optimistic as he has seen the dedication of those working to stem the outbreak.

"There's a sense of camaraderie not just within the healthcare sector. I've seen a lot of patients, like police officers and contact tracers, working very hard. It's very heartening to know that a lot of our Singaporeans are encouraged by us. (Our situation is) relatively contained but we cannot afford to be complacent."