OPERATORS of unregistered nursing homes for the elderly must not be afraid to come forward for Covid-19 vaccination, state lawmakers said, giving an assurance that they will not be penalised.

Coronavirus clusters have occurred among aged care homes and some of them include unregistered establishments that did not meet building requirements to obtain operating permits, but continued with their work nevertheless.

Negri Sembilan executive councillor for women, family and welfare Nicole Tan said the state government acknowledges that some nursing homes are not registered due to the amount of work needed to obtain approval.

“However, the state is helping them by shortening the application process,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

“They can rest assured that the authorities are not going to fine or penalise them, but now we want to assist them in vaccinating the elderly, who are a high-risk group.

“I assure them that they must go to their local councillors quickly to get help to register for the vaccination.”

The response from other nursing homes has been good, she said, with 41, including six that are not registered, having applied for vaccination with the state health department.

Thirty-four of these homes have completed the vaccination. Six homes are under isolation due to Covid-19 cases.

Tan said some homes have to deal with difficulties such as residents who refuse to be vaccinated and those whose families do not agree to having them inoculated.

In May, the Association for Residential Aged Care Operators of Malaysia (AgeCope) gave an assurance that following a dialogue with National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme coordinating minister Khairy Jamaluddin, unregistered nursing homes will not be penalised when they come forward for vaccination registration.

According to data from AgeCope, there are 1,300 nursing homes in the country that are not registered. Only 365 are registered.

In the Klang Valley, there are some 400 aged care homes, according to Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, but of this, only about 100 are registered with the welfare department.

Tan said the majority that are not registered are usually unable to meet the department’s conditions to get licensed as costs are involved to meet the requirements.

“Expenses are incurred if the home’s design is not up to specification and renovations are needed. There is also a lot of red tape,” he said.

“Unregistered nursing homes, most of which are charity-based and not even making profit, will not be able to afford all these.”

While the problem of unlicensed nursing homes has always existed, the concern this time is the urgent need to vaccinate their residents.

In his constituency in the federal territory, Tan said his service centre has helped residents of about 10 nursing homes get vaccinated.

He is also helping eight unregistered nursing homes to receive the Covid-19 vaccines.

In Kepong, another constituency in the federal territory, its MP Lim Lip Eng said there is only one aged care home with 20 people where vaccination has been completed.

In Selangor, meanwhile, the state health department launched an outreach vaccination service early last month to target aged care homes and welfare institutions in the state.

Ng Sze Han, the executive councillor in charge of local government, public transport and new village development, said the state government has already instructed state councillors to cooperate with the outreach service and not penalise unregistered welfare homes.

“Councillors are to help with finding both registered and unregistered nursing homes. Our goal now is not to conduct law enforcement but to get the elderly vaccinated,” he said.

“Fortunately, most homes for the elderly have been willing to register. The state health department has informed that 110 homes, including unlicensed ones, have registered for vaccination in Petaling Jaya alone. Registrations are still coming in.”

Vaccination of the elderly in Selangor is a concern due to the high number of Covid-19 cases. Yesterday, the state where most parts of the Klang Valley are under enhanced movement-control order (EMCO) contributed 2,262 cases.

Malaysia was under the movement-control order last month and on June 27, Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Phase 1 of the national recovery plan will be extended indefinitely until three key thresholds or indicators are met.

Apart from the number of daily Covid-19 cases dropping to below 4,000, the rate of bed usage in intensive care units should be at a moderate level, and 10% of the population should be fully vaccinated.

Urban and industrialised parts of Selangor and several areas in Kuala Lumpur have also been placed under the EMCO from July 3 to 16 as the number of Covid-19 cases is highest there, contributing almost half of daily infections that have been in excess of 6,000 for most of the past week. – July 5, 2021.