09 Sep 2010
PATIENTS may soon have an avenue to seek redress if their physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists are unprofessional.
Under a new law that the Health Ministry plans to introduce, a regulatory body called the Allied Health Professions Council will be set up to oversee therapists' conduct and practice.
The council will have the power to take disciplinary action against errant allied health professionals, for instance by disqualifying them from practising or meting out fines of up to $50,000.
It will also maintain a register of qualified therapists, and accredit training programmes and providers.
The council will have eight members nominated by the Health Ministry. They will represent the Health and Education ministries, and allied health professions. A complaints committee and disciplinary tribunal will be convened, when necessary, to look into complaints.
The proposed Allied Health Professions Bill will regulate physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists for a start. Other allied health professionals, such as clinical psychologists and podiatrists, may be included later.
Currently, allied health professionals are issued guidelines by their professional associations and societies, but these groups do not have the legal teeth to take disciplinary action.
The Bill is being proposed as the numbers of such health professionals can only grow as the population ages.
Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan wrote in his blog yesterday that the Health Ministry would expand the numbers and capabilities of allied health professionals here, to work with doctors and other health-care workers caring for patients who are living longer but have several chronic diseases.
The proposed law will also make it an offence for unqualified practitioners to misrepresent themselves as allied health professionals.
Physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists must register with the council and obtain a practising certificate, which is to be renewed regularly. With this in place, people can check online if therapists are qualified.
In the future, the therapists will also have to fulfil a minimum number of hours of continuing education before they can renew their registration, like doctors and dentists.
The Health Ministry has released a public consultation paper on its website (www.moh.gov.sg) for feedback on the proposed Bill before Oct 7. It hopes to introduce the Bill in Parliament this year, and have it passed early next year.
Therapists and their employers yesterday welcomed the proposal.
Mr Dennie Hsu, director of clinical support services at the National University Hospital, which has more than 100 therapists who will be under the proposed Bill, said: "This new initiative will help raise the quality of patient care by setting the minimum standards and competency level required for one to practise as a qualified allied health professional in Singapore."
Mr Low Hsien Chih, president of the Singapore Physiotherapy Association, said: "This is wonderful, because it is recognition of the profession."
It would also help protect patients by identifying qualified physiotherapists, he said. Every year, the association gets about three inquiries on whether individuals who claim to be physiotherapists are truly qualified.
Ms Jacqueline Phang, a speech therapist who runs her own practice, said it would be helpful that therapists could now identify the most useful courses to attend, as they would be accredited by the council.
Asked if registration fees would be passed on in terms of costs for patients, she said that it was unlikely, as many therapists now pay annual fees to be members of professional associations here and abroad, and do not pass those on.
Ms Florence Cheong, president of the Singapore Association of Occupational Therapists, said: "We are confident that the registration cost will be minimal to the professional, relative to the average salary. As such, the cost will not be passed down to patients."
GROWING TRADE
Speech therapists
There are more than 160 speech therapists in Singapore today – about three for every 100,000 residents.
Occupational therapists
There are around 400 to 500 occupational therapists – about nine for every 100,000 residents.
Physiotherapists
There are around 600 to 700 physiotherapists – about 13 for every 100,000 residents.
The number of such therapists is up 85 per cent to 100 per cent from 10 years ago, but the Health Ministry hopes to further increase the ratio by at least 70 per cent in the next decade.
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