New programme launched to strengthen safe living measures in Singapore dormitories

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (21 October) launched an Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) programme, in efforts to strengthen the implementation of safe living measures in dormitories and reduce the risk of infection transmission.

These measures aim to address the knowledge and behavioural gaps of the workers and dormitory operators, and include the wearing of masks, safe distancing practices, and staggered timings for the use of communal facilities and prevention of inter-mixing among dormitory residents. The IPC programme will assign clear responsibilities and provide education and training to dormitory operators and dormitory residents so that they can each play their part, the MOM noted.

Under the programme, training will also be provided to MOM officers and volunteers to conduct regular audits to ensure compliance with the IPC measures.

The IPC programme was developed by the Assurance, Care and Engagement Group under MOM, in partnership with the Ministry of Health. Besides consulting infectious diseases experts, the IPC programme also incorporated the findings of interviews and studies of migrant workers’ personal hygiene and social behaviours.

Training and education will be provided to the following three stakeholder groups:

Dormitory operators and staff

Training is aimed at helping operators implement good management systems to ensure compliance with IPC measures, and undertake corrective actions promptly if there are lapses. Online training materials and a checklist are provided to dormitory operators and their staff to improve their knowledge of IPC principles and conduct self-assessments.

Dormitory residents

Education will be provided to dormitory residents to improve their knowledge and practice of the Safe Living Measures in the IPC. Specially designed educational materials will be made available to migrant workers on the FWMOMCare app. This includes a series of educational videos, webinars, infographics, posters and quizzes in their native languages.

Forward Assurance and Support Teams 

MOM officers who are part of the Forward Assurance and Support Teams (FAST) and volunteers supporting them will be trained to conduct regular audits of dormitories to check for compliance with IPC measures. More than 100 volunteers from the Singapore Healthcare Corps, of which 40 are nurses, will partner FAST officers in the audits.

Photo / 123RF

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