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Source:
www.moh.gov.sg |
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Improving the Intermediate and
Long-Term Care Sector for the benefit of patients |
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The Ministry of Health (MOH) is looking to
further improve the intermediate and long-term care (ILTC) sector to
better cope with the diverse needs of a greying population. |
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Today, 59 nursing homes have over 8,500
licensed beds catering to patients with general medical conditions.
About 60% of these nursing home beds are run by Voluntary Welfare
Organisations (VWOs), while 8 private nursing homes receive some
portable subsidies. |
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To encourage private sector involvement, MOH
has also earmarked land sites for private nursing homes, and 6 sites
have been taken up for such development. This is part of MOH’s overall
efforts to widen the range of ILTC choices, at different pricing levels
and at different service standards. In the long run, this will help to
improve performance, efficiency and standards of care to patients.
Subsidy for the ILTC sector currently stands at $100 million, but is
expected to increase. |
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Pilot Project for market-based subsidised
beds |
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To further kick-start the involvement of
private providers in the ILTC sector, MOH will embark on an exercise for
private nursing home operators to bid for the provision of a pilot
number of subsidised places. |
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Through this competitive market-based
bidding system, we hope to get the best performance and value when
allocating subsidized beds to existing or new providers. At the same
time, we hope it will help to improve consistency in patient care and
facilitate healthy competition between providers. |
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Private nursing home operators will be
invited to submit their proposals for improvements together with
their bids. Bids submitted will be assessed based on clinical,
service and financial factors. |
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A performance monitoring and audit
framework will also be put in place to ensure that the provider(s)
deliver the level of care as required and committed to. MOH
invites the private operators to submit their proposals by 20
March 2008. |
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Facilitating seamless patient care
& improving market transparency |
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MOH is also committed to improving
integration across healthcare providers. The Integrated Care
Services (ICS) was jointly established by MOH, the National
Healthcare Group and the Singapore Health Services in 2000 to
facilitate a seamless flow of patient care in the community. The
ICS does so by coordinating the registration, management and
referrals to nursing homes, day rehabilitation centres and chronic
sick facilities. |
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The ICS has since developed a “Guide
to Choosing a Nursing Home ” which provides a listing of
nursing homes and the categories of functional status/care needs
it supports. It is a useful resource guide to assist prospective
private patients and their families to seek out the nursing home
most suited to their needs. A copy of the guide is attached, and
it is also available at the ICS website
www.ics.com.sg. |
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In October 2006, in a move to
encourage more transparency in the sector, the MOH published data
on the bed situation and charges for ILTC facilities. This
information allowed Singaporeans to make more informed decisions
on where to seek residential care based on their needs. It also
provided the industry with comparative benchmarks and clearer
market signals to develop its services. |
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The latest (2007) data for nursing
homes - “MOH
Supplement on Bed Statistics in Nursing Homes (Sep 2007)” and
“MOH
Supplement on Nursing Home Charges (Dec 2007) ”, is available
at MOH’s website www.moh.gov.sg
and at the ICS website
www.ics.com.sg. |
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
22 February 2008 |
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Source:
www.moh.gov.sg Press Release
22 Feb 2008 |
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FrontPage Edition: Fri 22 February 2008
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