NOTICE PAPER NO. 1769
NOTICE OF QUESTION FOR ORAL ANSWER
FOR THE SITTING OF PARLIAMENT ON 6 MARCH 2023
Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song
MP for Aljunied GRC
Question No. 4299
To ask the Minister for Health (a) in the last six months, how many local nursing homes have not been able to maintain the required ratio of care staff to residents for (i) Category I (ii) Category II (iii) Category III and (iv) Category IV residents respectively; and (b) what are the Ministry’s plans to assist the nursing homes to meet the level of staffing and level of professional skills required.
Answer
1. All nursing homes inspected within the last six months met the required staffing ratios. Nevertheless, many healthcare institutions, including nursing homes, face a tight manpower situation, as healthcare workers are in great demand throughout the world.
2. The Ministry of Health (MOH) works with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to attract jobseekers into the community care sector, including nursing homes. They also work closely with nursing homes to develop healthcare workers professionally. This includes the Community Care Traineeship Programme for their newly-hired local healthcare and therapy assistants; and providing subsidies through AIC-appointed Learning Institutes for a range of developmental and skills training programmes. In addition, we are stepping up efforts to recruit foreign nurses to work in Singapore.