85-year-old in Bukit Batok care home did not get help after fall due to ‘technical issues’ with alert button

24-hour emergency responses are part of the basic services that Community Care Apartments residents must subscribe to.

Published Sep 25, 2026, 05:52 PM

Updated Sep 25, 2026, 05:52 PM

A resident of Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok pressed the emergency call button after a fall, but no help came due to a technical issue and an answering machine responding instead.

Vanguard Healthcare identified the fault, checked all emergency call buttons, and reinforced staff response procedures to prevent future incidents.

The resident's family urged a system review and suggested lighter doors for easier emergency access, while Vanguard Healthcare committed to improving safety and response processes.

SINGAPORE – An 85-year-old woman living in Singapore’s the first assisted living public housing facility in Bukit Batok pressed an emergency call button after a fall but a “technical issue” meant no help came.

The woman fell and hurt her hip on Sept 2 at about noon, in a flat in Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, Vanguard Healthcare said it carried out a preliminary review with the vendor for the call button, and identified a technical issue that “may have affected the transmission of the alert from that specific call button to Vanguard Healthcare staff”.

Vanguard Healthcare is a wholly owned subsidiary of MOH Holdings that has been appointed to deliver basic services to residents of the facility.

Jason Chan, acting director for community care services at Vanguard Healthcare, said: “As a precautionary measure, we have since conducted checks on the emergency call buttons across Harmony Village.

“We have also reinforced response procedures with our staff, including the appropriate response when a resident is unable to communicate over the call button.”

The woman’s daughter Mary Aw said her mother, Soh Hock Lye, fell in the shower, and pressed the emergency call button in the toilet.

A voice responded to the call, and she believed help was on the way. But nobody showed up to help. Aw said it is likely that an answering machine responded to the call for help.

When the old woman – unclothed and wet from her shower – realised no one was coming, she dragged herself to the main door, said Aw.

She opened the door with the aid of a walking stick and called for help, catching the attention of a neighbour.

The emergency call button is part of a basic service package that residents in community care apartments are required to pay for . The package also includes getting help with day-to-day matters like simple home repairs and letter reading services.

Chan said Vanguard Healthcare staff “rendered aid to the resident promptly” after they were alerted to Soh’s fall by her neighbours. An ambulance was also called.

Aw, 62, said her mother had hip surgery on Sept 3 and has remained in hospital while she recovers.

She said: “I’m really angry that she had to go through all of this, as well as the trauma of having to expose herself and cry for help.”

She added that it was unacceptable for an answering machine to address a distress call, and urged the authorities to review how the emergency call systems in community care apartments work.

Aw said: “How you answer such calls is critical, and all residents need to be assured that the system is working properly. Safety is so important. How can a call be picked up by an answering machine?

“If the call button is outsourced, the authorities need to check that it’s working before the unit is handed over to residents.

“Any faults in the system should be detected and flagged automatically. It should not take an incident like this for us to realise ‘sorry, you are the unlucky one.’”

The authorities should also consider installing lighter doors in community care apartments, so that elderly residents can open them easily, especially in emergencies, she added.

Chan said Vanguard Healthcare recognises that the experience was distressing for Soh and her family.

He said: “We agree that when a resident seeks emergency assistance, the alert system and response processes are expected to work so that residents can get help promptly.

“We take our responsibility for residents’ safety seriously and will continue to strengthen our systems and processes based on the lessons learnt from this incident,” Chan added.

24 小时紧急响应是社区关怀公寓居民必须订阅的基本服务之一。

发布于 2026 年 9 月 25 日下午 5:52

更新于2026年9月25日下午5:52

武吉巴督和谐村的一位居民摔倒后按下紧急呼叫按钮，但由于技术问题，无人前来救援，取而代之的是答录机。

Vanguard Healthcare 查明了故障原因，检查了所有紧急呼叫按钮，并加强了员工响应程序，以防止未来发生类似事件。

该居民的家属敦促对系统进行审查，并建议安装更轻便的门以便于紧急情况下进入，而 Vanguard Healthcare 则承诺改进安全和响应流程。

新加坡——一名居住在新加坡武吉巴督首个辅助生活公共住房设施的 85 岁老妇摔倒后按下紧急呼叫按钮，但由于“技术问题”，无人前来救援。

9月2日中午左右，一名女子在武吉巴督和谐村的一间公寓内摔倒，扭伤了臀部。

针对《海峡时报》的询问，Vanguard Healthcare 表示，他们已与呼叫按钮的供应商进行了初步审查，并发现了一个技术问题，“可能影响了该特定呼叫按钮向 Vanguard Healthcare 工作人员发送警报”。

Vanguard Healthcare 是 MOH Holdings 的全资子公司，被指定为该机构的居民提供基本服务。

Vanguard Healthcare 社区护理服务代理主任 Jason Chan 表示：“作为预防措施，我们已经对 Harmony Village 的所有紧急呼叫按钮进行了检查。

“我们还加强了对员工的应对程序培训，包括当住户无法通过呼叫按钮进行沟通时应采取的适当应对措施。”

该女子的女儿 Mary Aw 说，她的母亲 Soh Hock Lye 在淋浴时摔倒了，然后按下了厕所里的紧急呼叫按钮。

有人回应了她的求助电话，她以为救援人员正在赶来。但最终却无人出现。Aw表示，很可能是自动答录机接听了求助电话。

阿说，当那位刚洗完澡、一丝不挂、浑身湿透的老妇人意识到没有人会来时，她拖着疲惫的身体走向大门。

她拄着拐杖打开门，呼救，引起了邻居的注意。

紧急呼叫按钮是社区护理公寓居民需要付费的基本服务套餐的一部分。该套餐还包括日常生活方面的帮助，例如简单的房屋维修和信件代读服务。

陈女士表示，在邻居告知他们苏女士摔倒后，先锋医疗保健中心的工作人员“立即对苏女士进行了救助”。同时，他们也叫了救护车。

62岁的Aw说，她的母亲于9月3日接受了髋关节手术，目前正在医院康复中。

她说：“我真的很生气，她不得不经历这一切，还要承受暴露自己、哭着求助的创伤。”

她补充说，用答录机处理求助电话是不可接受的，并敦促有关部门审查社区护理公寓的紧急呼叫系统是如何运作的。

Aw说：“如何接听这类电话至关重要，所有居民都需要确信系统运行正常。安全至关重要。怎么能让答录机接听电话呢？”

“如果呼叫按钮是外包的，那么在将单元房交付给居民之前，有关部门需要检查它是否正常工作。

“系统中的任何故障都应该被自动检测并标记出来。我们不应该等到发生这样的事故才意识到‘很遗憾，你运气不好’。”

她还补充说，有关部门也应该考虑在社区护理公寓安装更轻便的门，以便老年居民能够轻松打开，尤其是在紧急情况下。

陈女士表示，先锋医疗保健公司意识到，这次经历对苏女士及其家人来说是痛苦的。

他说：“我们一致认为，当居民寻求紧急援助时，警报系统和响应流程应该能够正常运作，以便居民能够及时获得帮助。

陈补充道：“我们认真对待居民安全责任，并将继续根据从此次事件中吸取的教训加强我们的制度和流程。”