This article has been migrated from an earlier version of the site and may display formatting inconsistencies.
18 Oct 2010
Question No: 115
Question
Name of the Person: Assoc. Prof Fatimah Binte Abdul Lateef
To ask the Minister for Health (a) if there are regular audits conducted to assess the performance of nursing homes; and (b) if there is a current recommendation for the ratio of patients to nursing staff and what is the compliance rate
Reply
Reply From MOH
My Ministry conducts regular audits on all nursing homes licensed under the Private Hospitals and Medical Clinics Act. Their licences are subject to renewal every two years. They will have to comply with all the audit requirements before their licence can be renewed.
2. One audit requirement is that the nursing home must meet the minimum “care staff to patient ratio”. The ratio will vary in accordance with the medical profile and hence the needs of the patients. For the majority of patients in our nursing homes, the ratio is for 1 care staff to between 2 to 4 patients.