Compliance with National Standards of Care in Nursing Homes

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for Health (a) whether there is a set of national standards to ensure that the care offered in nursing homes meets minimum standards for facilities, space, staff training, experience, hygiene, management and supervision; (b) whether there is third party assessment by a national accreditation body to ensure compliance to such standards; and (c) if not, whether the Ministry will consider implementing such a system.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: All nursing homes are licensed under the Private Hospitals & Medical Clinics (PHMC) Act. The licensing requirements cover standards in areas such as medical and nursing care, facilities maintenance and up-keeping, and general hygiene.

MOH conducts regular checks to ensure that nursing homes meet the licensing requirements and care standards. MOH also engages independent auditors to further assess care standards in areas such as infection control, wound care and nursing management in the nursing homes. In addition, we have the Nursing Home Visitors Programme where volunteers will visit the nursing homes to obtain direct feedback from residents and their family members, as well as observe the living environment.

MOH regularly reviews and enhances the care standards in our nursing homes. In 2014, an industry-led workgroup was convened to develop enhanced nursing home standards in the areas of clinical care, social care and organisational excellence. The workgroup's recommendations were subsequently incorporated into licensing requirements in April 2015 and enforced with effect from April 2016.