MOH probes emergency response lapse after senior faced faulty call button in assisted living flat

An ambulance was only called to Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok over two hours after the fall.

Published Oct 07, 2026, 09:52 AM

Updated Oct 07, 2026, 09:52 AM

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SINGAPORE - The Health Ministry has asked Vanguard Healthcare, which operates Singapore’s first public assisted-living housing facility, to establish what went wrong after an 85-year-old woman pressed an emergency call button but no help came.

The woman had fallen in the shower and hurt her hip on Sept 2. An ambulance was only called to Harmony Village @ Bukit Batok over two hours after the fall, after her neighbour heard her calling for help .

In a written parliamentary response on Oct 6, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung apologised to the resident.

“This should not have happened. I can understand the distress this incident would have caused her and her family,” he said.

Non-Constituency MP Andre Low had asked what system-wide service standards govern community care apartments’ 24-hour emergency response, and whether the ministry will require independent checks.

Ong said that community care apartments provide community and home care support, rather than clinical or medical services, and are therefore not regulated under the Healthcare Services Act.

Instead, MOH sets out its requirements for the delivery of services through service level agreements with the operators. These include the requirement for a 24/7 emergency response to be delivered in a prompt, efficient and professional manner.

While Vanguard is a private company under MOH Holdings, it is expected to fully meet its contractual service level agreement requirements. Any breaches are dealt with “at an arm’s length” - no differently from how other service providers are treated, he added.

Ong said that following the incident, MOH had directed Vanguard to conduct a formal root cause analysis.

He added that the firm has almost completed its checks on emergency call buttons in Harmony Village and engaged an independent consultant to conduct a review of the incident and its emergency response arrangements.

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.

MOH will review the review’s findings when they are ready, Ong said. The ministry will establish what went wrong, including whether there were shortcomings in the equipment, operating procedures, response arrangements or oversight.

“Where lapses are established, we will require Vanguard to remedy them and implement the necessary improvement measures,” he said.

This includes considering whether more specific service standards, additional independent assurance or system-wide reporting requirements are needed. This will be strengthened where necessary, he added.

Vanguard Healthcare said in a statement on Sept 24 that 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”.

Jason Chan, acting director for community care services at Vanguard Healthcare, said it has since conducted checks on emergency call buttons across Harmony Village and reinforced response procedures with its staff.

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.

When Soh – unclothed and wet from her shower – realised no one was coming, she dragged herself to the main door and called for help, catching the attention of a neighbour.

Aw, 62, said her mother had hip surgery on Sept 3 and is still in hospital.

Isabelle Liew is a journalist at The Straits Times. She covers housing issues in Singapore, with a focus on public housing.

事发两个多小时后，才有人叫救护车前往武吉巴督和谐村。

发布于 2026 年 10 月 7 日上午 9:52

更新于2026年10月7日上午9:52

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新加坡——卫生部已要求运营新加坡首个公共辅助生活住房设施的先锋医疗保健公司调查一名 85 岁老妇按下紧急呼叫按钮但无人救援后究竟发生了什么。

9月2日，这名女子在淋浴时摔倒，扭伤了臀部。两个多小时后，她的邻居听到她呼救，才叫了救护车前往武吉巴督和谐村。

10月6日，卫生部长王乙康在国会书面答复中向该居民道歉。

“这本不应该发生。我能理解这件事会给她和她的家人带来多大的痛苦，”他说。

非选区议员安德烈·洛曾询问，社区护理公寓的 24 小时紧急响应遵循哪些系统性服务标准，以及该部门是否会要求进行独立检查。

Ong表示，社区护理公寓提供的是社区和家庭护理支持，而不是临床或医疗服务，因此不受《医疗保健服务法》的监管。

卫生部并未直接向运营商提供服务，而是通过与运营商签订服务水平协议来规定服务交付的要求。这些要求包括必须以迅速、高效和专业的方式提供全天候紧急响应服务。

尽管Vanguard是卫生部控股公司旗下的私营企业，但预计它将完全履行其合同服务水平协议的要求。他补充说，任何违约行为都将“公平公正地”处理——与其他服务提供商的处理方式并无不同。

Ong表示，事件发生后，卫生部已指示Vanguard进行正式的根本原因分析。

他还补充说，该公司已基本完成对和谐村紧急呼叫按钮的检查，并聘请了一名独立顾问对该事件及其应急响应安排进行审查。

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协助，例如简单的房屋维修和信件代读服务。

王乙康表示，卫生部将在审查结果准备就绪后进行审核。卫生部将查明事故原因，包括设备、操作规程、应急安排或监管方面是否存在缺陷。

他说：“如果发现任何疏漏，我们将要求先锋集团予以纠正，并实施必要的改进措施。”

这包括考虑是否需要更具体的服务标准、额外的独立保证或系统性报告要求。他补充说，必要时将加强这方面的工作。

Vanguard Healthcare 在 9 月 24 日的一份声明中表示，该公司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，“可能影响了从该特定呼叫按钮向 Vanguard Healthcare 工作人员发送警报”。

Vanguard Healthcare 社区护理服务代理主任 Jason Chan 表示，此后该公司已对 Harmony Village 的所有紧急呼叫按钮进行了检查，并加强了对员工的响应程序。

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。

刚洗完澡，一丝不挂、浑身湿透的苏女士意识到没有人会来帮忙，便拖着疲惫的身体走到大门前呼救，引起了邻居的注意。

62岁的Aw说，她的母亲于9月3日接受了髋关节手术，目前仍在住院。

Isabelle Liew是《海峡时报》的记者，主要报道新加坡的住房问题，尤其关注公共住房。