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SINGAPORE - An elderly woman resident at an established nursing home in Singapore was shown being mistreated by staff there.
A video clip, apparently captured by a hidden camera inside the room where the elderly woman stayed, showed an elderly woman seated naked in a chair in plain view of the staff and other residents, and with the fan on at full blast. The video was first shown on national television yesterday.
Footage also showed the woman being picked up by two employees of the home, and then flung unceremoniously onto a bed that she was seated next to.
The Straits Times reported that the incident took place at the Nightingale Nursing Home in Braddell Road. The report also said that she had been a resident there for four years.
The shocking clip was submitted to the Ministry of Health (MOH), which later told the home stop taking in new patients on April 12 until further notice.
Since then, Nightingale Group, which runs three nursing homes, said that the staff members involved have been disciplined.
Its spokesman also added that measures which included scheduling more ward rounds and checks on the delivery of patient care standard by management and senior staff have been implemented.
Nightingale Group noted that what had taken place was an isolated case.
But MOH criticised this incident, noting that "this should not have happened", and that there were "significant lapses in the care standards provided to the patient in question".
An MOH spokesperson also said a patient's dignity and respect must be upheld at all times.
It said that it would watch the nursing home closely, and supervise them on how to improve their patient care.
Meanwhile, the victim's son who was interviewed on television said that the family have moved their mother to another nursing home.
A Facebook page has been created to highlight the abuse and to protest against this incident.