SINGAPORE — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has decided to renew the licence of Good Shepherd Loft for three months, after it found that the private nursing home has taken action to address some of its breaches. This will also give the home more time to fully rectify its deficiencies, and it will not be allowed to admit new patients during this period.

At the same time, the ministry will continue to monitor the home’s performance closely, and review its licence again early next year.

Last week, TODAY reported that the 33-bed nursing home in Bukit Timah was facing possible closure after it repeatedly flouted regulations, by letting nursing aides administer injections. 

It was previously fined S$12,000 for breaches of patient-safety regulations, and was given until Nov 28 to make alternative care arrangements for its residents while the MOH considered the home’s appeal to continue operations.

In a statement on Friday (Nov 25), the MOH said that the home had agreed to step up on patient safety. 

During an inspection on Tuesday, it was observed that the home had taken “pro-active actions to rectify the areas of concerns”, an MOH spokesperson said.

“Since the last inspection, there were no further findings of nursing aides giving any form of injections. Several care protocols were also reviewed and put in order. 

“Although there is still room for improvement in some areas, Good Shepherd Loft had expressed (its) commitment to work closely with MOH for the benefit of its residents,” the spokesperson added. 

In the next three months, as part of its task to set things right, Good Shepherd Loft has to seek best practices and be peer-audited by other nursing homes to ensure the appropriate care systems are in place. 

It will get help from another nursing facility, St Joseph’s Home, to improve its standard of resident care and review protocols, and some of its employees will be deployed at St Joseph’s Home for training.

Good Shepherd Loft told the press on Friday that it had misunderstood the ministry’s regulations and thought that nursing aides could administer intravenous injections under a nurse’s supervision.

Dr Belinda Wee, who spoke to reporters at the home she co-founded with her husband, Dr Joseph Lee, said: “We were a bit confused initially, because we thought it’s a matter of supervision rather than a ‘no-go zone’.”
The home had stopped allowing the practice since September, she said. 
“We apologise that as a doctor-led nursing home, we have failed to realise the cultural norms in other nurse-led nursing homes, leading to all this trouble and misunderstanding,” 
Dr Wee said.
While attempting to challenge conventions, the home had “jeopardised the position of (its) elderly (residents)”, she added. 
“We wanted to look at the elder-care scene on a bigger scale. Unfortunately, that had led to this incident, which was a blind spot for us.”
While assuring reporters that the home was not trying to cut corners or save costs, Dr Wee reiterated the constraints that small nursing homes face, such as how they are held accountable to the same standards as a large nursing home despite a lower manpower quota.
She called for regulators to allow “some flexibility and innovation” for operators of small nursing homes, where healthcare professionals often have to double up as home managers.