Good Shepherd Loft will have its operating licence extended for another six months until August this year, the second extension since last November when the private nursing home faced possible closure due to its breach of safety regulations.

The 33-bed home in Bukit Timah will also be allowed to admit new patients from March 1.

In response to TODAY’s queries, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it observed during an inspection last month that the home had “worked to improve, and consequently met”, the licensing terms and conditions for nursing homes.

However, the ministry noted that there are still areas in which improvements can be made, such as in “staff training and medication management”.

TODAY first reported in November last year that Good Shepherd Loft may have to close its doors after it repeatedly flouted regulations, by letting nursing aides administer injections.

The home, which had previously been fined S$12,000 for breaches of patient-safety regulations, was given until Nov 28, 2016, to make alternative care arrangements for its residents while the MOH considered the home’s appeal to continue operations.

However, the ministry renewed Good Shepherd Loft’s licence for three months, after it found that the home had taken “proactive actions to rectify the areas of concern”, such as reviewing and putting in order care protocols.

There were also no further findings of nursing aides administering any form of injections.

The first licence renewal was meant to give the home more time to fully rectify its deficiencies, but the home was barred from admitting new patients during the three-month period.

Following the latest extension of its operating licence, the home is required, over the next six months, to continue engaging other nursing homes for regular peer audits to ensure patient safety, and also to share the audit reports with MOH.

It must also ensure that its staff are “appropriately trained”.

“MOH will continue to closely monitor the standards of care at Good Shepherd Loft,” said a ministry spokesperson.

Good Shepherd Loft declined to comment.

In a press conference called the day its licence was renewed last November, the home’s co-founder, Dr Belinda Wee, apologised for the breaches. However, she also reiterated the constraints that small nursing homes face, such as how they are held accountable to the same standards as large nursing homes despite a lower manpower quota.

Dr Wee also appealed 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.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by KELLY NG

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