MH 78:04/4-2
26 June 2023
IMMUNITY AGAINST MEASLES AND DIPHTHERIA FOR PERSONNEL IN HEALTHCARE INSTITUTIONS On 3 January 2022, the Director-General of Health (“
DGH”) (then referred to as the Director of Medical Services) issued a set of Licensing Terms and Conditions under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act 1980 (“
PHMCA”) that set out the requirements for licensees to ensure that certain persons working in their healthcare institutions have immunity against measles and diphtheria (“
Immunity LTCs”). The intention of the Immunity LTCs is to ensure that these persons do not inadvertently become conduits for the spread of such diseases to the patients or other healthcare workers.
Update to the Immunity LTCs 2. In exercise of DGH’s powers under section 6(5) of the PHMCA, the Immunity LTCs will be amended and superseded with the LTCs set out in
Annex A (the “
Updated LTCs”), with effect from 26 June 2023.
3. In the Updated LTCs, licensees are required to ensure that volunteers who are healthcare professionals1 have immunity against measles and diphtheria. For volunteers who are not healthcare professionals, licensees are still strongly encouraged to ensure that they meet the immunity requirements as best practice. This is a calibrated public health approach taken to encourage volunteerism in all PHMCA licensed healthcare settings.
4. Licensees should also continue to assess and determine if there are circumstances where the immunity requirements may need to be imposed on volunteers who are not healthcare professionals. This assessment should be riskcalibrated and based on the potential exposure of volunteers with no to unknown immunity to diphtheria and measles to vulnerable patients. Further guidance on how licensees can make such an assessment is also provided by the Ministry of Health (“
MOH”) in the FAQs set out in
Annex B. 5. Licensees should reiterate to volunteers that prevailing infection prevention and control measures will continue to apply (e.g., routine cleaning and disinfecting of premises especially following a large group-based activity or event, general public exhortation to keep up-to-date with the necessary vaccinations, hand hygiene, masking in patient-facing areas and avoid visiting the healthcare institutions if unwell).
6. For avoidance of doubt, DGH may re-impose the requirement for licensees to ensure that volunteers who are not healthcare professionals have immunity against measles and diphtheria, if there is an outbreak of such diseases, or if the licensee is at risk of such an outbreak.
7. Should you require further clarification, please send your queries via email to elis@moh.gov.sg.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully
PROFESSOR KENNETH MAK
DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF HEALTH
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
The full document along with the Annexes may be downloaded below:
Circular Annex A - Updated LTCsAnnex B - FAQs