KNOW THE RULES OF THE GAME - WHEN STARTING ELDERLY CARE CENTRE

Jose Maurinho, a famous football manager for teams like Porto, Chelsea and Manchester United. Jose knows the rules of football and it is simple. Rule number one, make sure no one can score against you, so he packed his defense, in fact football commentators call it ‘parking the buses’ by packing his side of the field with defenders to stop opposing strikers. His rule number two is to score more goals than your opponent, even one more is sufficient. Some people say that Jose’s tactics are boring, had it not been for the talented players in the team. But it works.

Just like the game of football, there many rules in the business of elderly care. The care business is an easy business,  it is all about love but the rules can be tough. If there are no rules, one can just take any building, get the right staff and market your services and you can start your business and on your way to be a millionaire or making a good living or just helping a lot of needy elderly people. But it is not like that and there are rules.

So then, rules are bad, right?

Rules, law and procedures are not bad. It is there for many reasons. One of the reason is safety. What would happen if there are no rules stating the specific requirement of fire escape, there will be nothing to comply to. And what would happen when fire breaks out?

Another is civil co-habitation within a location and area. How would we like it if our neighbours’ house is now a night club? Or a columbarium for placing the urns for the dead.

But with accompanying rules, we have this web of intricacies and maze that we ned to negotiate to get out, and hopefully see the light.

 One of the most common reply when making enquiries at government offices and counters on how to get things done is, “ OK, you take this form and this list of things, follow it and it is done.” Simple, right? No, it is just the beginning and if we get it wrong it is the beginning of a nightmare. There will be trips after trips of going in and out government and council offices and counters, from one building to another, searching for parking after parking..

The Law of Exact Criterion

I call the process the Law of Exact Criterion because that is exactly what it is. There are two parts to the Law of Exact Criterion. First applicants must meet the exact items on the guide list, failing which the application will be rejected, and resubmission is needed. Knowing the items on the guide list is only the beginning after that in part two it is our job to find out exactly what are the rest of the procedures.

I learned this skill when I worked with a market research firm right after my ‘O’ level or Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia as it is locally known. For three years I went house to house and shop to shop asking questions on products, services and what people think about issues or ideas. My supervisor Mr Ho told me that never take the first answer as definitive, keep probing, keep asking. Mr.Ho will remind us every meeting and briefing that no one is who you think they are. What people says may not be what they are really saying. I applied it here in my workings with authorities.

After the famous ‘take this guide list and follow it’ there will be subtext, context and ‘humanum elementum’ which means human factor or element. I chose Latin for this expression it sounds clever and to prove a point. The point is that some of the things may mean something simple but presented in a complicated form, humanum elementum.

Let us dive in a little deeper, what is subtext, context and humanum elementum.

Subtext

Subtext is what is not said but is running around in the government and council offices, something the knew that you do not know but should know. Things like the SOP, procedure or format that the authorities wanted them in.  you will get, “Oh this you can download from our website, very easy.” Trouble begins with ‘very easy’.

 And often clarification is needed, so knowing how to ask questions can safe time and simplify process. Asking specific questions like, “Can you show me a sample of what a completed forms or submission looks like?” helps.

When I wanted to apply for Accreditation for  training centres or ‘Pusat Bertauliah’ I called up the office and they told me the same thing, just go to the website. Now this is not a government bashing time, it is just explaining the rules of the game when working with authorities. So, I went into the website, and true enough there were many information and details with all types of forms. Once I printed out all the forms and procedures, it was only one centimeter thick. But, there were some information I needed clarification, so I went to the office and ask the officer the specific question, “Can you show me a sample of what a completed application looks like and he showed me a seven centimeters thick file and said, “This is how it should look like.” I asked one more question, “Sir, is this a normal application?” he replied, “Yes. But sometimes it is twice as thick”

Context

Context is the what you are applying for, where is it going to be located and what business license you are applying for. I shall go deeper into it in a moment.

Humanum Elementum

Have you ever come across a conversation where both you and your friend disagree over the meaning of a word and even when a dictionary is available and the definition is found and both of you still disagree? I have.

One of the word was ‘sexy’, this word alone has been used not exclusively to describe a disposition of the opposite gender, male and female, it is used to describe businesses, food and cars. “Well this business seems sexy.” “This red sport car is so sexy.” We found the meaning in Webster saying that sexy could mean either ‘Suggestive’ on one end or ‘Appealing’ at the other.

Just like the example above, rules, regulations and laws in the hands of human may have slight variation in interpretation. I once submitted a completed set to a Kuala Lumpur council, the officer at the counter says it is complete and will be submitted for review by the board members. A few weeks later I received a call saying that there are missing documents and we must resubmit the missing documents. Human elements play an important part in license applications.

What one officer from one department says may differ from another officer from another department.

Who are the players?

Let us now get to know the players or rather authorities who will be involved in the homes and centres licensing processes.

First we need to decide the type of entity that the home or centre is going to be. It could be a business under private limited or sole proprietorship or association or non-governmental charity organization, therefore, you need to register the entity who will be running and managing the homes and centres. All these three entities play under different rules.

The next player is Jabatan Kebajikan Malaysia or welfare department as it is generally known here. Make absolutely sure you know which district welfare department your proposed centre or home is placed under. Make a copy of the entity registration forms and bring all of them. You do not want to travel to the department a few times, where they are usually located in an off-beat place with limited parking lots. This, generally applies to most government departments.

The welfare department will issue you three letters, one each for the fire department, health department and the town or city council.  

The third player is the fire department. On receiving the welfare department’s letter, they will come and inspect your place.

The fourth player is the health department. They will inspect the food processing and cleanliness of the home or centre.

Finally, the fifth and most important player is the local council. They will give the final approval for the home or centre existence.

Each of them has their own rules and the authorities mentioned above worked together within the compound of each of their own rules. I like to use the term ‘working in unity in diversity’. Just like football, where the stadiums have their own management rules, the football clubs have theirs and then enter the national football associations, continental associations and then the world association. These entities function within their own rules and live within a diversity with one common goal, football.

This seems troublesome and daunting, but all the authorities in this elderly care game set the rules to protect the consumer. Without rules, there will be chaos.

Despite all the authorities and their rules, we still hear complaints about the poor standard of elderly care homes and centres. Try taking the authorities out of the game and we will have mayhem.

In my years of dealing with authorities I have encountered some difficulties with the process. But I must point out that I have also met many helpful officers who had helped and guided me through the processes. I encourage you not to mix the rules and processes with the person. The officers working with the government departments and councils are there to assist us.

Many friends and acquaintances told me their difficulties and many of them equated complex rules, difficult and long processes as a sign that ‘something else’ is needed to get things done quick. I cannot comment on their perspective, but I can tell you that it is not like that in my experience