20110121 Substandard homes for the elderly shut

Substandard homes for the elderly shut

SUNK:The Ministry of the Interior reported that seven of the nation’s 1,065 registered nursing homes closed down because they failed to meet basic requirements

By Loa Iok-sin / Staff Reporter

Following the release of a shocking photograph showing several elderly people afloat in a flooded nursing home in Kaohsiung City (now Greater Kaohsiung) last year, the Ministry of the Interior has launched thorough inspections of nursing homes across the country and closed four that failed to meet basic requirements.

In September, headline photos in newspapers showed several elderly men in wheelchairs floating in water in a flooded nursing home in Gangshan District (岡山), causing widespread public consternation.

Days of pouring rain brought by Typhoon Fanapi had triggered flooding in many parts of the city.

Bombarded by criticism from the public and lawmakers, Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said at the time that the ministry would launch thorough inspections of nursing homes around the country.

Following the inspections, the ministry said that seven of the nation’s 1,065 registered nursing homes had failed to meet basic requirements by Dec. 24.

“Of those seven, three voluntarily applied to cease operations, while four — including three in Greater Tainan and one in Pingtung County — were ordered to close,” the ministry said in a statement.

Deputy director Huang Hung-mo (黃宏謨) of the ministry’s Central Taiwan Office, who was in charge of the inspections, told the Taipei Times by telephone that nursing homes were given ratings of A, B, C or D.

“Only those that received a B rating or above could continue to operate,” Huang said.

Nursing homes were evaluated on their organization, safety and availability of fire equipment, accessibility, as well as quality of service.

“Nursing homes received a score in each category and were rated based on the total points -obtained,” Huang said. “However, if [a nursing home] failed to comply with key regulations — namely public safety and fire equipment — it would still fail the inspection even if it met requirements in the other categories.”