MOH may run its own nursing homes

SINGAPORE — In a move that would mirror the Education Ministry’s foray into the pre-school sector, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is considering operating nursing homes, as part of efforts to expand and offer more options in the eldercare sector.

It is also planning to offer opportunities to manage larger nursing home projects involving a “package” of two or more homes on land leased from the Government, as it ramps up its original target of having 15,600 nursing home beds by 2020 to 17,000.

Announcing these moves at the official opening of the Society for the Aged Sick’s new tower block at its nursing home yesterday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the Government, in considering running nursing homes, has no intention of dominating the market.

Rather, these homes will serve as platforms where innovations and new care models can be tested, allowing the ministry to better understand operational issues on the ground. The Government is considering operating three or four nursing homes with a total of 1,000 beds by 2020, which would make up about 6 per cent of the total bed capacity then.

“The innovations, if successful, will be shared with the rest of the eldercare sector, so as to spread good practices and allow more of our seniors to benefit,” Mr Gan said.

As for the plans to let market players manage nursing home projects of two or more homes — to be mainly located in the same areas — Mr Gan said this is to nurture the growth of larger players who have economies of scale and are able to provide a comprehensive range of services.

The ministry will launch its first Request for Proposal (RFP) for such a project next month. These RFPs will be open to new and existing players from both the volunteer and private sectors. These anchor providers must be able to offer comprehensive care, such as home care services for those returning home after receiving care in the nursing home.

They will operate under the Build-Own-Lease (BOL) model introduced in 2012, where the ministry builds and owns the nursing homes and tenders out the operating rights to an operator through the RFP process.

Mr Gan said there is no minimum requirement for these operators such as a minimum bed capacity, as long as they meet licensing requirements. “We will also consider their capability, their commitment to developing the nursing home sector, including investment in innovation training and developing new models of care,” he said.

Beyond the BOL model, suitable land sites and state properties will also be released for the private sector to develop their own nursing home facilities to cater to their own market segments.

Operators TODAY spoke to welcome the idea of the MOH entering the sector, saying it will give the Government a better idea of operational and administrative issues.

“Presently, there is a lack of role models or regulations in the nursing home sector,” said healthcare policy expert Phua Kai Hong of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. “The MOH coming into the sector is an encouraging sign as it would set the norms for costs and quality of care.”

He also said this was not the Government’s first foray into the long-term care sector and that plugs were pulled on the service as the Government had felt at the time that voluntary welfare organisations would be able to provide better care for those who need the service.

But as the Government seeks to improve the quality and standards of the sector while ramping up capacity, it must also help with operational costs to prevent them from being passed on to the patients’ families, said United Medicare Centre nursing director Tan Guat Peng.

She added that beyond costs, many patients are in nursing homes because of conflicts with their family, and “hence have nowhere to go or no one to look after them”.

“What’s better is encouraging the elderly to age in place and help resolve the social issues that these elderly may face,” she said.