18 Jan 2011
SINGAPORE, 18 JANUARY 2010 – Reflecting the national effort to raise intermediate and long term care (ILTC) capabilities, the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) has revised the nursing care specialisation track of the Healthcare Support (HCS) framework under the Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) System and appointed the Singapore General Hospital’s (SGH) SingHealth Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing (Alice Lee IAN) as a Continuing Education and Training (CET) Centre.
The Alice Lee IAN will be pivotal in efforts to train the next generation of healthcare support workers. Through the HCS WSQ framework, workers can be trained to provide direct care to patients and take on responsibilities the in technical and administrative areas, thus assisting nursing and medical professionals in the provision of quality healthcare. Alice Lee IAN will further support the development of the workforce by providing career counselling and job matching.
The revisions to HCS WSQ framework was a collaboration amongst WDA, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and key industry players like Alice Lee IAN. Tapping on the expertise of these organisations, the revision sets new standards for Healthcare Assistants across the full spectrum of healthcare services from acute to ILTC settings. This will optimise healthcare manpower resources and aid in the career mobility of healthcare assistants who have gained industry-recognised WSQ certifications backed by the Singapore government.
There is strong demand for healthcare professionals and healthcare support workers as the industry continues to grow. A growing and aging population also means that there are new demands on the healthcare system. New hospitals in Jurong and Novena have been slated, while nursing home beds will rise from 9,300 now to 14,000 in the next decade. These will need well trained staff to ensure the provision of quality healthcare.
SingHealth Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing (Alice Lee IAN)
As the first CET Centre which is part of an acute hospital, Alice Lee IAN will be able to tap on SGH for clinical placements. These placements are crucial to the training of healthcare support workers, without which they would not be able to graduate.
In addition, Alice Lee IAN is currently the only HCS WSQ CET Centre that has the expertise and capacity to offer HCS WSQ from Certificate to Advanced Certificate level for four specialisation tracks: Sterilisation Services, Nursing Care, Operating Theatre Support and Administrative Support.
As a CET Centre, Alice Lee IAN is looking to train 680 HCS workers over the next three years. The training provided will be skills-based, industry-focused and delivered in bite-sized modules for job-seekers interested in joining the healthcare industry as well as existing HCS workers. Alice Lee IAN will also enhance its training capabilities by:
• Expanding the repertoire of courses to include higher level Nursing Care, Administrative Support, Operating Theatre Support and Sterilisation Services
• Contextualising courses for healthcare support workers in various settings
• Provide career advisory and placement services for trainees
For more information, please refer to Annex A.
"We are proud that the SingHealth Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing has played a significant role in promoting WSQ training programmes for the healthcare support staff in the industry. With the relevant skills and competencies, the healthcare support workers can be trained to become Healthcare Assistants, Patient Service Clerks and Patient Care Assistants, delivering safe and quality care to patients. The training will equip them with skills that are applicable at the workplace and help them to remain employable in the healthcare industry," said A/Prof Lim Swee Hia, Group Director of Nursing, SingHealth and SGH.
Revision of HCS WSQ Framework
The HCS WSQ framework was first introduced in 2007 to offer training pathways for healthcare support workers at acute hospitals. The Nursing Care specialisation track has since been refined to address the evolving skills needs of Healthcare Assistants in ILTC institutions. This will complement national efforts to raise ILTC capabilities.
“The updating of the Healthcare Support WSQ framework and appointment of the SingHealth Alice Lee Institute of Advanced Nursing as a CET Centre are timely. Together, they will lead to new training standards and courses being developed for the healthcare support workforce to meet the changing needs of our healthcare system, particularly in the area of intermediate and long term care.” said Mr Chan Heng Kee, Chief Executive, WDA.
The revised framework will take effect fully on 1 April 2011. For more information, please refer to Annex B.
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