Nursing home not allowed to take in new patients
SINGAPORE - The Nightingale nursing home along Braddell Road has been stopped from admitting new patients, after staff were found to have mistreated a resident there.
The incident came to light after MediaCorp alerted the Health Ministry to a video - taken with a hidden camera at the patient's bedside - which a relative of the resident had sent.
The video showed an elderly woman sitting next to the bed without any clothes, while the ceiling fan was going at full blast.
After a while, a worker lifted the patient and threw her onto the bed. They even slapped the woman after she moaned in pain.
The woman has been a resident of the home for the past four years.
The nursing home, which is privately run, has disciplined the staff member involved, and put in place additional measures such as getting senior staff to visit the wards and check staff conduct, and holding regular meetings with patients and their family members.
The suspension, which MediaCorp learnt about on Wednesday, has been in effect since April 12.
In a reply to MediaCorp, the Health Ministry said: "There were significant lapses in the care standards provided to the patient in question. This should not have happened. There should have been tighter supervision of staff rendering care to vulnerable patients. Patient's dignity and respect must be upheld at all times."
A member of the patient's family told MediaCorp: "Of course we are unhappy with the incident. We sent her there for the nurses to take care of her, we're disappointed with what happened. We hope by bringing this matter up, it will help to improve things at the home."
The family has since moved the woman to another nursing home.
The Health Ministry said it will closely monitor the nursing home to ensure that all additional measures imposed are implemented properly.
It will subsequently ascertain if the suspension imposed on the home should be reviewed or if further sanctions should be imposed. "Our inspectors regularly check that all nursing homes are properly maintained, keep their patient records in order and institute effective infection control measures," said the ministry.
Nursing home operators are also required to maintain care standards on medication administration, fall prevention and housekeeping.
Those that do not meet the required standards or which require closer monitoring for any other reason will be subject to more regular audits. The ministry will also guide them on how to improve their performance.
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