Draft rules to improve nursing home management

China is seeking to increase the penalties for mismanagement of retirement homes with draft rules that would oversee the nation's sprawling network of long-term care facilities.

The proposed revision to the Administrative Measures for Nursing Homes follows the lowering of the entry threshold for service providers by the Ministry of Civil Affairs two years ago in an effort to boost the supply of elder care facilities.

The ministry has published the draft rules on its website and is welcoming public feedback, including proposed changes, until May 13.

In a circular released on Tuesday, the ministry said the draft would make inspections of nursing homes more regular and transparent and also proposed using a social credit system to discipline operators.

It also specified penalties for breaching service contracts or failing to formulate emergency plans, the ministry said.

The circular said there was a significant need for oversight after the ministry dropped an approval process for potential players in the field in 2018 and switched to a registration system.

The changes were expected to accelerate the sector's growth to cope with a rapidly aging population, as applicants previously had to submit paperwork, including for land use, and often had to wait for an extended period to receive government approval.

The ministry said the revised rules specify details of the registration process, including the required materials, and would make it compulsory for operators to share data for public oversight.

The draft would also require retirement home managers to improve their emergency plans for contagious diseases, including novel coronavirus pneumonia, and encourage the facilities to roll out door-to-door services for seniors still living at home.

Since 2012, the central government has released several guidelines seeking to open the market to private players in a bid to meet the ever-increasing demand for quality elder care. Government-funded facilities mainly serve impoverished, childless seniors and other elderly people with limited options.

Figures from the ministry show that, by end of 2018, China had less than 29,000 retirement homes, with some 3.7 million beds.

However, China had 249 million people aged 60 or older at the end of last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The China National Committee on Aging projects the number will reach 300 million by 2025, and peak at 487 million in 2053, when around one in three people in China will be over 60.