Healthcare Services (Contingency Care Service) Regulations 2023

every approved permanent premises is operating at all times;

every approved permanent premises is designed and built in a manner that provides a proper, safe and conducive environment for the treatment of every patient, including a patient who suffers from a physical disability; (c)every approved permanent premises is adequately and properly equipped to address the mobility requirements of every patient, including a patient who suffers from a physical disability; and

a security system is established and implemented at every approved permanent premises to ensure the safety of the personnel, patients and visitors at every approved permanent premises.

ensure that there is a process to facilitate prompt access to adequate supplies of equipment, materials and other supplies which are necessary for the provision of any contingency care service in a proper, effective and safe manner; and

where there is any instruction manual for any equipment or material mentioned in sub‑paragraph (a) — ensure that the instruction manual is made available for reference by any personnel who uses or intends to use the equipment or material.

the emergency power and lighting are sufficient to ensure that any procedure that has commenced may be safely completed; and

where any life support equipment is used, the life support equipment is connected to an emergency power supply at all times during its use.

any change in the patient’s medical condition or the occurrence of any incident, that requires the patient to receive a new or different type of care, treatment or procedure;

any change in the patient’s care plan that will result in the patient receiving a new or different type of care, treatment or procedure.

present at every approved permanent premises; and

who have the appropriate qualifications, experience and competency to provide timely and appropriate nursing care to the licensee’s patients.

in accordance with the policies and procedures mentioned in paragraph (3) and the approved standards of nursing practice; and

under the supervision of a registered nurse.

the assignment of a suitable nurse who possesses the appropriate qualifications, experience, competency and skills, to take charge of the nursing care of a patient, taking into account the patient’s medical needs and condition;

the prompt recognition of any untoward change in a patient’s condition to facilitate any appropriate intervention by a medical practitioner or another personnel with the necessary qualifications, experience, competency and skills; and

the determination of the type of contingency care service that needs to be provided to a patient according to the change in the patient’s medical needs and condition.

within a reasonable period of time after a patient is admitted by the licensee to any approved permanent premises, a registered nurse assesses the nursing needs of the patient;

a nursing care plan is proposed for the patient;

the nursing care plan includes measures to continuously evaluate the patient for the purpose of determining, at any time, the patient’s state of health and the quality of nursing service provided to the patient;

a nurse is charged with the implementation of the nursing care plan for the patient;

every nursing service must be carried out in accordance with the nursing care plan; and

the implementation of the nursing care plan and the patient’s response to any nursing service are documented in accordance with the approved standards of nursing practice.

the storage, preparation, dispensing and administration of any medicinal product or health product;

the proper and accurate keeping and maintenance of records relating to the storage, preparation, dispensing and administration of any medicinal product or health product;

the prevention of any mix up, contamination, or early degradation of any medicinal product or health product that is stored or used at the approved permanent premises;

the measures to prevent any medicinal product or health product that has been recalled from its manufacturer, from being dispensed or distributed; and

informing every patient who has been dispensed or administered or has consumed the medicinal product or health product mentioned in sub‑paragraph (d) of the recall.

there is an adequate supply of medicinal products and health products at every approved permanent premises where a pharmaceutical service is provided; and

the medicinal products and health products are properly stored at the approved permanent premises.

provide the dietetic service to the patient at the licensee’s approved permanent premises; or

make arrangements for a dietitian (who is not the licensee’s personnel) to provide the dietetic service at premises other than the approved permanent premises.

assess the medical condition of the patient and determine whether a dietetic plan needs to be formulated for the patient;

where it is determined that a dietetic plan needs to be formulated for the patient, ensure that the dietetic plan is formulated taking into account the patient’s medical condition, and meets the patient’s nutritional requirements; and

ensure that a dietitian assesses the nutritional value of any food provided by the licensee to the patient.

only as a service that is incidental to the provision of a contingency care service;

at the licensee’s approved permanent premises; and

by a personnel of the licensee, who has the appropriate qualifications, skills and competencies to conduct the ultrasound imaging.

using testing material in respect of which —

the expiry date has not passed; and

the personnel who is administering the test does not suspect or have any reason to suspect that the testing material is no longer fit for use; and

in accordance with the instructions specified by the manufacturer of the testing material.

ensure that adequate and appropriate facilities, equipment and drugs for the provision of any essential life‑saving measure to a patient are readily available at every approved permanent premises; and

at all times, be capable of providing essential life‑saving measures to any patient who is at risk of death.

that only resuscitation drugs that have not passed their expiry dates and are fit for use and resuscitation equipment that is fit for use are made available for use in the provision of any essential life‑saving measure;

the establishment and implementation of protocols for the rapid and accurate assessment of any patient who is in need of essential life‑saving measures; and

every personnel who provides any essential life‑saving measure to a patient is adequately trained —

to provide the essential life‑saving measure in a proper, effective and safe manner; and

in the use of the equipment that is needed to deliver the essential life‑saving measure.

establish an infection prevention and control programme (called in this regulation the IPC programme) that satisfies the conditions mentioned in paragraph (2);

appoint an infection prevention and control committee to assist the licensee in establishing, implementing and regularly reviewing the IPC programme;

ensure that the infection prevention and control committee comprises the appropriate number of personnel with the appropriate qualifications, skills and competencies for the purpose of carrying out the licensee’s functions mentioned in sub‑paragraph (b);

keep proper and accurate records of —

the implementation of the IPC programme; and

every infection prevention and control activity carried out at the approved permanent premises;

ensure that only equipment, material or articles that are reprocessed or sterilised through high‑level disinfection or sterilisation in accordance with the specifications by the manufacturer of the equipment, material or articles (as the case may be) and are not subsequently contaminated, are used in any minor surgical procedure on a patient; (f)ensure that every equipment, material or article that is used in every minor surgical procedure is —

reprocessed or sterilised through high‑level disinfection or sterilisation in accordance with the specifications by the manufacturer of the equipment, material or article, as the case may be; and

kept and stored under the appropriate conditions to ensure that the equipment, material or article remains fit for use until it is used in the next minor surgical procedure;

ensure that every equipment that is used to reprocess or sterilise any other equipment, material or article is checked regularly and maintained properly in accordance with the specifications by the manufacturer of the equipment, so as to ensure its proper and effective operation;

designate an area in every approved permanent premises for the accommodation of patients suffering or suspected to be suffering from an infectious disease specified in the First Schedule to the Infectious Diseases Act 1976;

ensure that the area mentioned in sub‑paragraph (h) is —

separate and isolated from the area at which all other patients are staying; and

designed, built and equipped to minimise the risk of the transmission of any infectious disease among the patients staying in that area, or from a patient staying in that area to any individual outside that area; and

establish, implement and regularly review a security system to minimise the risk of an abscondment of a patient who is suffering from an infectious disease specified in the First Schedule to the Infectious Diseases Act 1976.

standard operating procedures relating to the infection prevention and control of any infection at the licensee’s approved permanent premises;

policies and guidelines relating to the prevention, identification, control and management and elimination of any infection that is acquired in or brought into the licensee’s approved permanent premises, including —

the practice of good hand hygiene and in the use of personal protective equipment; and

the control of the movement of all of the following into, within and out of the approved permanent premises to minimise the spread of any infection:

any person, including the licensee’s personnel, patients and visitors; (B)any equipment, material or article that is or may be used for providing any care or treatment to, or conducting a procedure on, a patient;

any material or waste that is or may be contaminated by a patient suffering from an infectious disease;

policies and the appropriate processes for the training and competency assessment of the licensee’s personnel to ensure that the personnel are familiar with and are able to comply with the matters mentioned in sub‑paragraphs (a) and (b);

surveillance plans to monitor every incident at the licensee’s approved permanent premises that involves an epidemiologically important organism or an infection that is acquired at the approved permanent premises;

plans to carry out regular audits on the personnel, patients and environment of the licensee’s approved permanent premises to ensure that the IPC programme is being implemented effectively.

an emergency at the approved permanent premises;

a medical emergency in Singapore.

establish and equip an operationally‑ready emergency response team to manage an emergency mentioned in that paragraph;

establish, implement and regularly review processes and procedures to control and manage an emergency, including any radiation emergency or incident;

with respect to a radiation emergency or incident, establish, implement and regularly review processes and procedures to prevent, identify, control and manage any radiation emergency or incident, including strategies to isolate every area or patient who is affected by radiation, setting up isolation facilities for every affected patient, and the use of equipment to prevent, control and manage the spread of radiation;

review the processes and procedures mentioned in sub‑paragraph (b) annually;

train every personnel who is deployed to the emergency response team in the processes and procedures mentioned in sub‑paragraph (b); and

participate in any exercise specified by the Director‑General that is for the purpose of evaluating the emergency preparedness and response capabilities of the healthcare system in Singapore.

to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and

in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction.