On the morning of September 4th, the State Administration for Market Regulation, together with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, held a press conference on two mandatory national standards for elderly care services, including the "Basic Specifications for Elderly Care Institutions."
It was revealed at the conference that the two agencies have recently formulated and released the "Basic Specifications for Elderly Care Institutions" and the "Judgment Criteria for Major Accident Hazards in Elderly Care Institutions." These mandatory national standards aim to effectively safeguard the safety of elderly care services and protect the life and health rights of the elderly.
Where the standards apply, the "Basic Specifications for Elderly Care Institutions" establishes a clear bottom line for the safety and service quality that an institution must meet throughout its entire lifecycle, from establishment and operation to exit. The standard systematically puts forward 90 specific requirements across seven areas, including site selection and construction, facilities and equipment, admission and discharge management, basic services, safety management, operational management, and evaluation and improvement. This creates a clear "baseline" for compliant operation.
How hazards are defined, the "Judgment Criteria for Major Accident Hazards in Elderly Care Institutions," based on a summary of nationwide safety management experience in the sector, clarifies the procedures for determining major accident hazards. Depending on the level of danger, potential major hazards are classified into three judgment rules: 25 direct determination elements, 28 comprehensive determination elements, and 2 types of exclusion scenarios.
According to Zhang Jun, Deputy Director of the Elderly Care Services Department at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the two standards comprehensively summarize lessons learned from recent major liability accidents and natural disasters in elderly care institutions. They systematically address quality and safety weaknesses found during inspections and rectifications, integrate key management requirements previously scattered across fire protection, construction, food, and other closely related fields, and adopt some recommended standards that have been widely implemented and achieved positive results.
This strengthens the coordination between different standards and builds a standard system with full coverage and whole-chain regulation. At the same time, it provides a legal and technical basis for joint law enforcement inspections and hidden danger investigations, while reinforcing coordination between relevant laws, regulations, and mandatory standards.
The introduction of these two mandatory national standards will help enhance the predictability for social forces to participate in elderly care services. It will also assist and guide institutions in addressing service and safety shortcomings, continuously strengthening their management resilience and risk resistance capabilities, and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of the elderly care service industry.