Want a swift licence renewal? Let your licence lapse and blame it all on the licensing process. This appears to be the strategy of some care centres in the country.
We say some because there are many genuine care centre operators who find the licensing process unduly long-drawn. More on this later. But first, let's deal with the operators who choose to continue operating without a licence. .
Want to know the size of the illegality? Almost 80 per cent of all senior care centres in the country. They know what they are doing is illegal. And they know, too, that illegalities come with grave consequences for errant operators and those who are under their care.
Those who go into the caregiving business must know that it is not a millionaire-making commerce. If at all there is a business that must put people before profit, caregiving is certainly it. Not all who do get into the business know how to care for the ailing or the aged.
This is why there are laws and regulations — the Care Centres Act 1993 is one — to ensure that two things happen. One is to assure that the operators and the care centres have what it takes to run such a business. Two is to make the operators legally responsible for the welfare and safety of those under their care.
Continuing to operate without a licence should never be condoned. Like it or not, it is a choice exercised by the operators and they must face the consequences of their choice.
Now for the licensing process. There is no doubt that a swift licence renewal process is vital, but certainly not at the expense of the welfare and safety of the ailing or the aged.
One solution suggested to this newspaper is for the authorities to introduce a "phased compliance system", meaning allowing the care centres to operate on provisional licences until all the compliance boxes are ticked.
An interesting but a dangerous idea. Does this mean operating without the Fire and Rescue Department's approval? What happens in the event of a fire? No insurance company is going to give coverage to such centres.
Even if they do, the coverage will be invalidated. A provisional licence can never cover the gap between an unlicensed centre and a licensed one.
The solution does not lie in diluting the legal requirements, but in speeding up and simplifying the licensing process. This does not mean that the sluggishness is all the fault of the regulators. Granted, things in the public sector sometimes amble when they should run. But still, to put the entire blame on the authorities is to miss the point of the regulations.
The care sector is no self-policing business. We are dealing with the frail and fragile. Like it or not, it needs to be regulated. As they say, it takes two to tango.
Care homes operators and regulators can come together online or offline to give the licensing process the extra push towards early service delivery. If the operators fulfil all the requirements of the law, there is no reason for delaying the renewal.
On the other hand, if the operators fail to meet the requirements, they lose the licence to complain.