45-bed Pasir Panjang nursing home has licence revoked over lapses
Windsor Convalescent Home was found to have serious and systemic lapses in resident safety, clinical care and infection control practices.
369 Pasir Panjang Road, the premises of Windsor Convalescent Home. (Image: Google Street View)
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SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) issued a notice on Thursday (Jun 18) to revoke Windsor Convalescent Home’s licence to provide nursing home services.
Windsor Convalescent Home currently operates a 45-bed nursing home service at 369 Pasir Panjang Road.
MOH said it found "serious and systemic" lapses at the home, and it will be unable to provide nursing home services from Oct 30 at its permanent premises.
“The licence revocation date of four months from now takes into consideration the time required to transfer current residents of Windsor Convalescent Home to other nursing homes,” said the ministry in a press release.
“However, to safeguard the safety and well-being of nursing home residents given findings of serious and systemic lapses in compliance with requirements under the Healthcare Services Act 2020 (HCSA), MOH has deployed an interim care team to Windsor Convalescent Home with effect from Jun 18,” it said.
This is to ensure that residents continue to receive proper care throughout this process, it added.
When CNA arrived at the nursing home at around 3.50pm, the premises were quiet.
Staff members could be seen through the windows attending to their duties inside.
The nursing home occupies the second floor of the building, while the ground floor houses a temple. Visitors to both premises enter through a common entrance.
Mr Toh Yu Aik, who manages the Chin Khong Kow Poon Guan San Toh Tong temple, told CNA he was surprised by the news as he had not heard any complaints about the nursing home.
"Whenever I went upstairs to the nursing home - I would go up occasionally - it seemed fine. The nurses treated the elderly well, treating them like their own family, sometimes comforting them even when they throw tantrums," said the 64-year-old in Mandarin.
"Sometimes you hear the residents yelling or complaining but I feel like this is part of their behaviour due to their age.
He added that he had not heard complaints from residents' family members.
They usually tell me the place is very serene and peaceful, and that they like it here," he said.
LAPSES IN RESIDENT SAFETY, CLINICAL AND NURSING CARE
An MOH audit in April found “serious and systemic” lapses in resident safety, clinical and nursing care, and infection control practices, said the ministry.
These were compounded by a lack of control, governance and oversight by Windsor Convalescent Home’s key office holders, it added.
The lapses included:
- Failure to conduct appropriate reviews for residents in multiple aspects, including falls, pressure injuries and weight loss
- Failure to follow up on or adhere to the residents’ care plans
- Poor medication management, such as omission of medications, use of expired medications, and discrepancies in medication quantity
- Failure to provide adequate basic care to residents
- Neglecting residents’ fundamental care needs, such as basic grooming
- Failure to provide appropriate nutrition for residents based on their individual needs
- Failure to store food ingredients used to prepare meals for residents appropriately, with some ingredients found to be expired
- Inadequate infection prevention and control practices
- Failure to implement infection prevention and control measures
- Failure to ensure hygiene and sanitation in housekeeping processes
- Lack of governance and oversight by key office holders
- Failure of the key office holders to exercise clinical governance over the care delivered to residents
- Failure to provide oversight of the operation and maintenance of the premises
The health ministry issued a notice to the nursing home on May 5 regarding its intention to revoke the home’s licence.
“Windsor Convalescent Home was given the opportunity to submit representations within 14 days in respect of the intended revocation for MOH’s consideration,” said the ministry.
This was extended to 28 days after the nursing home requested an extension, it added.
MOH said it received these representations on Jun 3.
After “careful consideration” of them and MOH’s audit findings, the ministry determined the home was unable to continue providing nursing home services safely, it said.
INTERIM CARE TEAM
The interim care team deployed to the nursing home is from Vanguard Healthcare.
“Vanguard Healthcare Pte Ltd will inform all affected residents and their next-of-kin of the revocation of Windsor Convalescent Home’s licence,” said MOH.
It will also work with the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to make arrangements for the residents to be transferred to other nursing homes of their choice and eligibility, added the ministry.
MOH said it would work closely with Vanguard Healthcare to ensure no new residents are admitted before Windsor Convalescent Home’s licence revocation comes into effect.
In response to media queries, Vanguard Healthcare said that the interim care team will work with Windsor Convalescent Home’s team to ensure all residents receive safe and appropriate care, adding that the safety and well-being of the residents was the top priority.
"We have proactively reached out to the residents’ families today to give them assurance and the necessary support," said a spokesperson for Vanguard Healthcare.
The audit was part of MOH’s ongoing audit of selected nursing homes with identified areas for improvement.
This is to gauge compliance with infection prevention and control practices, as well as basic custodial and nursing care, it said.
“MOH will not hesitate to take regulatory actions if licensees and/or key appointment holders are found to have fallen short of regulatory requirements to deliver adequate and appropriate care,” it added.
MOH said it intends to share the findings with the nursing home sector on a suitable platform and work with AIC to enhance support available for the sector.
“This includes training to equip them with the necessary skillsets to adhere to the required standards of care,” it said.
Licensees are reminded to comply with the HCSA, the applicable regulations and conditions of their licences at all times, said MOH.
“MOH will continue to monitor all nursing homes to ensure compliance with HCSA requirements.”
CNA has asked MOH how often nursing homes are audited and if any residents were harmed by Windsor Convalescent Home's lapses.
