Easing healthcare staff’s burdenBy Yeh Yu-cheng 葉昱呈The staffing situation for nurses in acute care wards in Taiwan has long been stretched thin. Opening up pathways for foreign care workers to work in acute care wards must be accompanied by clear and controllable supporting measures and safeguards. First, the proportion of foreign care workers must remain lower than that of domestic staff, and their duties must be strictly limited to nonprofessional support tasks. Fourth, the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) and foreign labor regulations must be followed to clarify hospitals’ responsibilities for employment and management. Allowing foreign care workers into acute care wards is no silver bullet, but a reform that demands meticulous design.

Source: Taipei Times January 21, 2026 21:44 UTC