NURSING HOMES DOING THEIR BEST FOR RESIDENTS
Some don’t allow people to visit residents, while others are running out of supplies
DESPITE the Movement Control Order (MCO) at its tail end and the economic sector set to resume in stages, nursing homes are sticking to their decision not to allow families to visit their residents until further notice.
They believe that erring on the side of caution is the right move to take for the sake of the elderly residents, who are at higher risk of severe complications from the Covid-19 virus.
Pusat Jagaan Warga Tua Sri Tanjung Sungai Buloh assistant manager Abdul Azmi Azman, 30, said the decision was taken to ensure the health and safety of the elderly.
“We don’t allow visits at the moment as our patients are vulnerable. Some are bed-ridden and have a high risk of getting infected. We try our best to minimise social affairs, which include family gatherings.”
The home, he said, had cancelled non-governmental organisations’ visits as well as its usual religious classes on Friday for the residents as the religious teachers are outsourced.
Azmi said that they had to suspend medical check-ups to avoid cross-infections.
Despite the changes, the residents at the female-only Muslim private nursing home are coping well and carrying out their routines.
“We feed our patients six times daily like on normal days, except for 10 of residents who are capable of fasting during Ramadan.”
The home houses 26 senior residents who are cared for by eight in-house staff and one cook.
He said the home was having difficulty stocking up on essentials, especially perishable items such as poultry, fish, vegetables and bread.
In Ipoh, Procare Home for Senior Care is running low on medical supplies, especially gloves, hand sanitisers and masks.
“Gloves are the main thing that we need as we are required to clean the patients regularly.
“Unfortunately, many pharmacies in the area are low in stock,” said Rathiga Kuppusamy, 39, the home’s managing director.
She said she was using some rejected gloves were by a relative, but those too are running low.
Pharmacies, she said, limited supplies to one box per person.
The home cares for 10 elderly patients with two in-house staff.
Rathiga said the residents were doing their daily routine, which includes light exercise in the morning such as cycling, hand stretching and brain stimulation exercises for those with dementia.
“It is difficult to run the home during this trying period, but we are doing the best we can to manage our residents,” said Rathiga, who has 18 years of experience as a nurse.
She added that she had limited her visits to the nursing home to check out the condition of the patients to once every three days, and put on hold medical followups for senior residents as Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here was assisting the Covid-19 cases.