Good Shepherd Loft facing closure over breach of safety regulations
Good Shepherd Loft. Photo: Google Maps
SINGAPORE — A nursing home in Bukit Timah that persisted in flouting regulations by letting a nursing aide administer insulin injections is facing possible closure.
The Good Shepherd Loft, which was previously fined S$12,000 for breaches of patient-safety regulations, has been given until Nov 28 to make alternative care arrangements for its residents.
But the 33-bed home has filed an appeal to continue operations.
In response to queries, the Ministry of Health (MOH), which makes planned and surprise inspections of nursing homes, said that when it inspected Good Shepherd Loft in January, it found that nursing aides there were administering insulin to residents through injections.
Written warnings were issued in each of the next three months that injections could only be administered by a nurse registered with the Singapore Nursing Board.
But when it inspected the home a second time in September this year — just before Good Shepherd Loft’s licence expired — the MOH found that the home was still allowing nursing aides to administer medication intravenously to a resident.
A ministry spokesperson said: “MOH is gravely concerned with (Good Shepherd Loft’s) persistent unsafe practice, as nursing aides are not qualified nurses under the Nurses and Midwives Act, and this practice could pose severe risks to patients.”
The home has until Nov 28 to transfer its residents to other facilities and make the necessary arrangements for its care, said MOH.
Good Shepherd Loft has written in and met the ministry on its justification for remaining open, added the ministry, and the appeal is being reviewed.
In the event of the home’s closure, the Agency for Integrated Care would help affected residents or their next-of-kin who may need help with making other care arrangements, said MOH.
Tighter standards for nursing homes took effect this year, after a one-year grace period for compliance.
These standards span areas such as medication management, equipment, emergency preparedness and financial management.
Nursing homes will face a shorter licensing period, such as six months, if they do not meet the requirements, and their licence may be revoked if there is persistent non-compliance.
Previously, smaller operators here have complained that the MOH’s enhanced rules for nursing homes were inflexible and too onerous.
When contacted, co-founder Belinda Wee, who also runs St Bernadette Lifestyle Village — an assisted living facility — declined comment as the matter was now under MOH.
When TODAY visited the home on Friday (Nov 18), Madam Jenny Lee, a retired doctor and the home’s landlady, vouched that the home is well-run and residents were happy there, even though she acknowledged that the lapses could have been rectified.
“While I appreciate that we have to have the rules, there must also be flexibility and discussion. Everybody needs a second chance ... (and it’s important) to give people a chance to learn,” she added.
Family members of residents of Good Shepherd Loft have also submitted testimonials for the home.
Madam Patricia Yim, 50, whose mother has been staying at the home since April, expressed concern that a possible relocation would affect her mother’s dementia.
She said staff at the home were prompt in keeping her updated on her mother’s condition, such as administering medication for her bedsores, and consulting her before any medication is administered.
“We hope that MOH can relook its decision,” she said.
In a testimony letter, Ms Michelle Low said her mother, who suffers from advanced dementia and has been staying at the home since 2014, has received the “utmost patience, care, and diligence” from its doctors and the team.
She recounted an instance where doctors there were unable to diagnose the cause of pain in her mother’s legs, but looked into referring her to other specialists and also advised them on the treatment and cost involved.
“The chaperone nurse who accompanies us for our mother’s specialist consultations is always highly competent with handling her physically and emotionally ... It is due to this level of doctor-to-doctor collaboration that our mother receives the best medical care possible,” she said.
Commenting on the case, Member of Parliament Tan Wu Meng, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, said: “Rules and regulations are part of the system to help keep nursing homes’ residents safe ... But beyond the enforcement of regulations, one (should) understand how and why it happened, (whether) it was a human factor, and individual process problem or a systems issue.”
