MOHW looks to allow direct hire of foreign care helpers at hospitals

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said Monday that the ministry is working on revising regulations to allow hospitals to directly hire foreign care workers who will help patients hospitalized for acute conditions with daily care needs and ease the workload of nursing staff.

Speaking to reporters, Shih said that previously, patients or families had to hire their own caregivers, sometimes causing conflicts with hospital management. This problem became especially clear during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need for a unified management system for all hospital caregivers.

Shih explained that the "Inpatient Integrated Care" trial program was launched three years ago to let hospitals assign trained care assistants to work alongside nurses, with the cost shared between patients and the National Health Insurance (NHI) system.

The program has been well received by the public, he said, as it helps reduce the work and financial burden on families. However, hospitals are facing a shortage of care workers, which is why the health ministry is considering introducing intermediate skilled foreign care workers.

Previously, they could only be employed by long-term care institutions, chronic care wards and respiratory care units, and not general hospitals. However, demand for daily care has grown from patients hospitalized for acute conditions, he said.

The ministry has been communicating with nursing groups to address misunderstandings that foreign care workers will replace domestic nurses, he added.

Shih stressed that the policy is intended to ease their workload, allowing them to focus on professional duties while daily care is handled by foreign care workers.

The MOHW is currently discussing the revision of relevant regulations with the Ministry of Labor (MOL).

Shih said the proposal is a positive step but noted that the revisions could take some time, as the MOL wants to ensure there is no controversy before officially announcing the changes.

The ministry hopes to complete the regulation changes by the second quarter of this year, he added.