Launch of tripartite framework for prevention of abuse and harassment in healthcare
30 January 2024
On 13 December 2023, the Ministry of Health (“MOH”) announced the launch of the Tripartite Framework for the Prevention of Abuse and Harassment in Healthcare (“Framework”) by the Tripartite Workgroup for the Prevention of Abuse and Harassment of Healthcare Workers (“Workgroup”). The Framework provides all healthcare institutions with a common definition of abuse and harassment, and a consistent set of standards to safeguard their workers.
The Framework consolidates the findings and recommendations of the Workgroup released in March 2023. The recommendations of the Workgroup are to protect healthcare workers who face abuse and harassment, prevent situations that lead to abuse and harassment, and promote positive relationships between healthcare workers and patients/caregivers.
The Framework covers the following areas:
- A common definition of abuse and harassment, which would guide how public healthcare institutions identify, prevent, and manage such incidents in a consistent manner.
- Standardisation of protocols for healthcare institutions, ranging from immediate incident response, reporting, and post-incident management.
- Follow-up actions to be taken against perpetrators to protect healthcare workers and those around them.
Under the Framework, healthcare institutions are empowered to take action against perpetrators, through issuing warnings, removing abusers from the premises and disengaging them in communications, refusing unreasonable requests outside of the healthcare workers’ job scope, or discharging abusive patients who are assessed to not require urgent medical care. Repeat offenders may also have their behaviour documented in their medical records.
It is stated in the MOH press release that the public healthcare clusters have committed to adopting the Framework with the aim of revising and updating their internal protocols across their hospitals and institutions by June 2024.
Other healthcare institutions, such as community care organisations, private hospitals and clinics, are encouraged to similarly support the zero-tolerance policy and adapt the guidelines for their operating environment.
The work done by healthcare workers is essential to the public and the launch of the Framework is a welcome step, signalling governmental recognition and support for a community of professionals that continue to provide these indispensable services amidst the stresses of a demanding workload and high public expectations. It leads the charge towards the implementation of day-to-day, practical solutions to protect healthcare workers, supplementing the existing (but often less accessible) legal protections such as that available under the Protection from Harassment Act 2014 and the Penal Code 1817.
It is hoped that a robust and consistent implementation of the Framework in local institutions will provide support and relief to the healthcare community, fortifying the quality of healthcare in Singapore through safeguarding the welfare of the persons that provide it.
Reference materials
The following materials are available on the MOH website www.moh.gov.sg: