Compliance with National Standards of Care in Nursing Homes
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the establishment of national standards and third-party assessments to ensure nursing homes meet requirements for facilities, staffing, and hygiene. Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong explained that all homes are licensed under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act, which mandates specific medical and nursing care standards. He noted that the Ministry of Health conducts regular inspections and employs independent auditors to assess clinical areas like infection control and nursing management. Additionally, the Nursing Home Visitors Programme gathers resident feedback, while enhanced standards for clinical and social care have been enforced since April 2016. These regulatory frameworks ensure that nursing homes maintain organisational excellence and adhere to the latest care requirements through continuous monitoring and industry-led reviews.
Transcript
21 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.