Minimum Standards for Providers of Home-based and Centre-based Services for Elderly Care
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Dr Chia Shi-Lu’s inquiry regarding quality standards, staff training, and the Singaporean core in home-based and centre-based eldercare services. Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong highlighted the 2015 developmental guidelines, professional licensing requirements, and mandatory service audits for Ministry of Health-funded centres. He noted that the Agency for Integrated Care provides capability-building programmes, while formal risk-based licensing is planned under the 2020 Healthcare Services Act. This approach aims to regulate higher-risk services without imposing excessive costs that could increase the financial burden on seniors. Finally, the Minister reported that locals comprise over 70% of the workforce, supported by government funding that increased local salaries by 30% from 2012 to 2017.
Transcript
36 Dr Chia Shi-Lu asked the Minister for Health what measures will be implemented to ensure that (i) providers of home-based and centre-based services for elderly care meet minimum standards of quality (ii) professionals and staff are adequately trained and certified and (iii) this employment sector has a strong Singaporean core.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: The Ministry of Health (MOH) takes a developmental approach to ensure the provision of good quality home- and centre-based care services. In 2015, MOH, in consultation with the sector, introduced developmental service guidelines for home- and centre-based care providers covering areas such as care delivery, staff training and staff qualifications. Separately, healthcare professionals in the sector, such as doctors, nurses and therapists, are subject to licensing by their respective professional bodies, and are held to strict professional standards in areas such as code of conduct, practice standards and competencies. Eldercare centres receiving MOH funding are also required to pass service audits.
To continually raise standards and improve quality of care, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) conducts regular capability-building programmes in areas such as infection control and medication management, and holds sector forums to regularly share good practices. AIC also provides funding support to providers for staff development.
MOH will review the need for more formal regulation, including licensing under the upcoming Healthcare Services Act. The Act is scheduled to be rolled out in 2020. As the sector is still nascent and evolving, we will adopt a risk-based approach and subject services with higher patient risks to higher levels of regulation, so as not to add excessive regulatory burden to providers, which could consequently raise the cost of care for seniors.
We recognise the importance of building a strong Singaporean core to support the growth of home and centre based services. In fact, locals comprise more than seven out of 10 of the workforce in the sector as at end 2017. MOH has provided funding to providers to raise salaries, and this had led to an increase in local staff salaries by around 30% across providers which tapped on our funding support from 2012 to 2017. We agree that better recognition of the importance of care workers will help to encourage more Singaporeans to step forward to join this sector, and we will continue our efforts to reach out to the society at large.