Nursing home to be first stepped-up Covid-19 care facility here

A nursing home in Tampines will be turned into a Covid-19 recovery facility for people who are generally well, but have underlying health conditions that require closer monitoring.

The NTUC Health Nursing Home in Tampines Street 22 will be the first of several planned stepped-up community care facilities (CCFs), which aim to provide "more comprehensive medical coverage" that will pick up early signs of deterioration, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday.

It will have 250 beds and will start operations on Thursday.

Existing residents of the nursing home have been transferred to other NTUC Health nursing home branches, with alternative arrangements made for those awaiting admission to the home.

NTUC Health has four other nursing homes - in Chai Chee, Geylang East, Jurong West and Lakeside.

"We thank the families and next of kin of the nursing home residents and NTUC Health for their understanding and cooperation in facilitating this shift to meet a national need," MOH said in a statement last night.

Some CCFs, which currently take in mildly ill patients who do not require much medical care, will also convert a proportion of their beds to stepped-up CCF beds.

These include the Singapore Expo's Connect@Changi, which is run by Raffles Medical and aims to provide 50 such beds when the stepped-up facilities are fully operational on Friday.

The move is aimed at augmenting hospital capacity, MOH said.

It means that only those who need close and specialised medical attention - such as oxygen supplementation or intensive care - will be admitted to hospital.

Patients who will be cared for at stepped-up CCFs include elderly people who are stable and mildly symptomatic, but have chronic illnesses such as cardiac, neurological or respiratory diseases, or weakened immune response.

"While this specific group of elderly patients are not at a high risk of deterioration to the extent of requiring oxygen supplementation or care in the intensive care unit (ICU), they will require closer monitoring of their pre-existing medical conditions as well as for any early signs of clinical deterioration," MOH said.

The stepped-up facilities will have more medical and nursing staff on hand, and make use of medical monitoring devices to ensure "the optimal level of care", MOH added.

Suitable nursing home residents who have contracted Covid-19 will be prioritised for admission to such facilities, to prevent further spread of the disease in such homes.

In addition, all patients whose conditions worsen will be taken to hospital for further care.

With the increasing number of Covid-19 patients requiring transport to CCFs, MOH said it will also start round-the-clock transport to all CCFs. It asked for patients' understanding and cooperation in sticking to allocated timings, even if these are "later in the night".

The ministry also reiterated its advice issued on Saturday night, urging people with mild symptoms to stay away from hospitals' accident and emergency (A&E) departments, given that many hospitals are coming under pressure.

Instead, such people should consult a general practitioner (GP) at a Swab and Send Home clinic, who will be able to assess their symptoms and perform the necessary tests. These GPs are capable of providing adequate care to manage mild symptoms, MOH said.

Meanwhile, those who have tested positive but do not have symptoms should stay at home.

If they begin to feel unwell, they should consult a doctor via telemedicine. They should go to A&E only if advised to do so, or if they have severe symptoms such as chest pains or shortness of breath.

"This is to prevent fruitless trips to the A&E departments which may inadvertently increase the risk of them transmitting Covid-19 to the others in the community," MOH said.