Woman says mum, 91, with dementia allegedly left alone & soiled at Woodlands daycare reception, centre says staff were in vicinity

A woman said she found her 91-year-old mother soiled and covered in vomit, alone at the reception area of a dementia daycare centre.

The daughter told The Straits Times (ST) that her mother has moderate dementia and gets confused sometimes.

Ren Ci@Woodlands had called the daughter, who is in her 40s, to inform her to pick up her mother, who was sick and had vomited.

The daughter rushed from work, and when she got to the centre, she said she found her mother sitting in a wheelchair alone.

In response to queries from Mothership, Ren Ci emphasised: "that the client was not left alone and soiled at the centre".

Ren Ci says staff followed procedures

The daughter told ST that her mother's vomit and diarrhoea were black and questioned how the centre overlooked her mother's potentially serious condition.

The daughter also questioned why the daycare did not send her mother to Woodlands Hospital next door, instead of calling her to take her mother home.

Ren Ci's spokesperson said it "follows clear procedures to safeguard the well-being of all clients".

"When a senior exhibits signs of illness, our trained staff promptly assess and monitor their symptoms and vital signs. Caregivers are informed without delay."

The centre added that for mild symptoms, they recommend that the caregiver bring the client to a general practitioner or polyclinic.

For severe symptoms, an emergency ambulance will be immediately activated.

Ren Ci's spokesperson said they had checked its CCTVs and confirmed that staff were present in the elderly woman's vicinity the entire time she was waiting for her daughter.

"We also cleaned her up as best we could after the incidence of vomiting. When the client was in the toilet, our staff waited just outside. At no time did the staff walk away."

Ren Ci's spokesperson added that there were no clear signs of soiling while the elderly woman was at the centre.

"In addition, the client refused to let our staff check whether she was wearing a diaper, and we respected her privacy."

Daughter brought mother to Sembawang Polyclinic

ST reported that the daughter took her mother to Sembawang Polyclinic first for a referral to get a subsidy, as she was scared of being charged private rates.

According to ST, the daughter did not know that means testing to assess healthcare subsidies is a standard automatic process to determine government subsidy levels, with lower-income households receiving subsidies of up to 80 per cent compared to households with higher incomes on ward admissions.

The pair arrived at the polyclinic at around 1:30pm, and the elderly woman was assessed and told that she needed "immediate care".

The daughter said, “There were no doctors available then, so we were given an appointment at 4:20pm. Since it was a couple of hours' wait, I decided to take my mother home to clean her up.”

Once home, the daughter noticed that her mother was not wearing a diaper.

Condition worsened

During the consultation at the polyclinic, the doctor said that the elderly woman's condition had worsened and advised the daughter to take her to the emergency department.

According to ST, the daughter declined the polyclinic's offer to call an ambulance and instead took her mother to Woodlands Hospital in a private-hire car.

The elderly woman was later brought to the Extended Diagnostic Treatment Unit, a 24-hour short-stay observation ward.

The elderly woman was discharged after a few hours, and ST reported that the daughter declined to give details of the medical conditions.

NHG Polyclinic says elderly woman was attended to promptly upon arrival

An NHG Polyclinics (NHGP) spokesperson told ST that the pair arrived at Sembawang Polyclinic on Apr. 1 at 1:38pm and was promptly attended to at 1:40pm by a triage nurse.

Triage nurses perform the initial assessment of patients and determine the urgency of their medical needs.

A doctor also assessed that the elderly woman would be clinically stable to be seen at 4:20pm, the scheduled appointment time.

The spokesperson told ST that the elderly woman arrived with vomit on her blouse, which a nurse helped clean up.

After being informed of the soiling, the nurse also offered to clean the elderly woman.

However, "when the nurse offered to help clean her, her daughter declined, as she preferred to take her home to do so."

The spokesperson told ST that staff stay observant and if there are signs of a medical emergency, cases are escalated.

ST reported that the clinic head of Sembawang Polyclinic has contacted the daughter and offered additional assistance to support the patient.

"We explained to her that if the doctor had been informed that her mother had vomited and was in a soiled state, he would have seen the patient earlier."

The NHGP spokesperson also expressed apologies for the distress caused, and said they would learn from this.

Ren Ci's spokesperson said that its staff have engaged the daughter and have come to a mutual understanding on her mother's care.

"We recognise that this situation has been difficult, and are committed to continue partnering the client and her family in providing the best possible care."

Top photo from Ren Ci Hospital/Instagram & Canva (for illustrative purposes)