Staff morale not in the pink of health at some nursing
homes
SINGAPORE: As the Ministry of Health gets set to
undertake a review of the nursing home system, operators here have
another task on their hands: Raising staff morale, in the wake of
the patient abuse case at Nightingale Nursing
Home.
For instance, Peacehaven Nursing Home executive
director Low Mui Lang told MediaCorp the recent episode has
inevitably cast a negative light on nursing home staff, with even
those who perform well feeling discouraged.
Similarly, Dr Belinda Wee, co-director at private
nursing home Good Shepherd Loft, said the welfare of caregivers has
often been forgotten and maintaining their well-being could prevent
patient abuse. The nursing home holds weekly meetings for staff to
voice issues, even as there are constant reminders for them to
provide good patient care.
With the sector under the spotlight, nursing homes are also
ensuring that communication channels with family members of
patients remain open.
A spokesperson for Ren Ci Hospital said: "We've actively engaged
our patients' families and conducted surveys on a regular basis to
obtain feedback on the service quality of our healthcare
staff."
So far, operators MediaCorp spoke to have not reported a spike in
feedback but Mr Lawrence Ang, voluntary chairman of Ju Eng Home for
Senior Citizens, noted that some patients or family members could
take this chance to cast aspersions.
He noted that running at full capacity - which many homes by
voluntary welfare organisations are - creates stress for staff as
they spread themselves thin. Some patients can also be difficult,
especially those who shout vulgarities and even molest nurses, he
added.
Several members of the public have called the MediaCorp News
Hotline with claims of poor treatment.
One caller, an administrator who wanted to be known only as Mr Chan
and whose grandmother stays in a private nursing home, believes
that patient abuse is a common occurrence.
"The recent incident at Nightingale was unfortunate but at least it
finally prompted the authorities to do something about it," said
the 55-year-old.
The Ministry of Health receives 12 to 15 complaints and feedback
each year, mostly about poor customer service, rude staff or
unsatisfactory care.
Apart from the review, other steps have been taken in recent years
for the sector and the Government had announced plans to boost
manpower and resources, including the building of six new homes by
2013.
Meanwhile, the Agency for Integrated Care said on Monday that it
has been partnering service providers to enhance the capabilities
of nursing home staff and has rolled out a shared procurement
programme to help homes improve their efficiency.
Its spokesperson told MediaCorp that more care options such as home
care are being expanded so that patients are admitted to nursing
homes only as a last resort. - TODAY
