How important is it to have National Standards for Senior Citizens Care Homes in India? I guess it is not that important because till date the fifth largest economy in the world is yet to develop their own National Standards / Code of Practice for Aged Care.
Unfortunately the basic recommendations which were drafted in the past were a result of half baked efforts and were created by stakeholders who had superficial knowledge on the subject.
I strongly feel that, if India has to progress in the domain area of Social Welfare especially w.r.t Elderlycare then the policy makers need to engage stakeholders who have non-conflicting roles and without any hidden agendas.
The attached document “Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons)” by Hong Kong Department of Social Welfare is a concise and practical guide.
This Code of Practice is issued by the DSW under section 22 of the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance, setting out principles, procedures, guidelines and standards for the operation, keeping, management or other control of RCHEs for compliance by operators.
Operators of RCHEs should study this Code of Practice in detail, as well as the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance and the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Regulation.
The DSW may refuse to issue a licence to the applicant under section 8(3)(c) of the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance if it appears that the premises used for the residential care home do not comply with any requirements relating to design, structure, fire precautions, health, sanitation and safety set out in this Code of Practice.
The guidelines to be followed are listed under the following chapters:
- Licence
- Building and Accommodation
- Fire Safety and Precautions
- Area of Floor Space
- Furniture and Equipment
- Management
- Staffing of RCHEs
- Health Worker
- Health and Care Services
- Infection Control
- Nutrition and Diet
- Cleanliness and Sanitation
- Social Care
Since India does not have National Standards for Senior Living and it seems that the policy makers are totally clueless about the way ahead, hence it is suggested to them that if they can’t create in-house standards then the least they can do is “Cut Copy Paste” from other countries. However for that they will have to at least read the document and change the name of Hong Kong to India.
The document Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly) – Hong Kong can be downloaded here or can be accessed below. It is also available on the website https://www.swd.gov.hk/en/