Ministry: Most nursing homes not formally registered
Published:Tuesday | April 22, 2025 | 12:06 AMLivern Barrett/Senior Staff Reporter
Just around 10 per cent of the approximately 200 facilities being operated across Jamaica as nursing homes are formally registered, the Ministry of Health and Wellness has disclosed.
The estimate was derived primarily from data gathered by public health inspectors during routine inspections.
The disclosures were included in a 10-page submission the health ministry made to a special select committee of the Senate on April 14.
The committee is reviewing a proposal for the enactment of legislation for the care and protection of the elderly.
Persons operating, or who plan to operate, a nursing home are legally required to obtain registration from the health ministry.
A nursing home, as defined in the legislation, is any premises used, or intended to be used, to receive and provide care to persons suffering from any sickness, injury or infirmity.
It serves individuals 18 years and older who, due to health conditions, are unable to perform activities of daily living and require continuous skilled nursing care by a registered nurse.
The ministry is mandated, under the Nursing Homes Registration Act (NHRA), 1934 and its regulations, to regulate private healthcare facilities in Jamaica, including nursing homes.
Registration criteria
Business registration with the Companies Office of Jamaica; planning and occupancy approvals from the local municipal authority; health and sanitation inspections from the local public health department; and fire safety inspections are among the criteria nursing home operators are required to demonstrate as part of the registration process, the ministry noted.
However, according to the health ministry, a total of 30 facilities were registered under the NHRA 1934 up to April this year.
This comprises 22 long-term care facilities encompassing both nursing and residential care homes, as well as four private hospitals and four “medical ambulatory surgery” centres.
The ministry acknowledged that at present, it does not maintain separate statistics on individual types of long-term care facilities.
As a result, all long-term care institutions are currently categorised collectively as nursing homes, as distinct from private hospitals and ambulatory surgery centres.
“Of the approximately 200 facilities identified, only about 10 per cent have met or exceeded the ministry’s regulatory standards and requirements for formal registration,” it acknowledged.
The ministry said delinquent facilities – particularly new operators or those previously unregistered – are sometimes identified during routine inspections by public health inspectors and reported to its Standards and Regulation Division.
Some delinquent operators come to the ministry’s attention “when they seek insurance coverage, as insurers often require proof of registration”.
The ministry said that as part of its operational plan of activities for the current fiscal year, the facilities section of the Standards and Regulation Division will undertake the differentiation between residential care homes and “true” nursing homes.