Commentary
With two nursing homes getting their licences revoked due to care and safety concerns, Singapore must do more before the next lapse forces the issue, say public health professionals Dr Jeremy Lim and Isabella Burton.
The licence revocations of Windsor Convalescent Home (left) and LC Nursing Home (right) have exposed longstanding challenges facing smaller nursing home operators. (Images: Google Street View, Instagram/LC Nursing Home)
10 Jul 2026 06:00AM
SINGAPORE: When two nursing homes in barely two weeks have their licenses revoked by the Ministry of Health (MOH), it is no longer an issue about two errant operators.Over 20,000 Singapore seniors are in a nursing home today, based on current capacity. And Singapore’s needs for nursing home beds will also expand significantly and rapidly, now that it has become a “super-aged” society this year, with more than one in five aged 65 and above.Furthermore, the health ministry estimates that half of all seniors will be severely disabled at some point in their lives, meaning at least three of six Activities of Daily Living (ADL) - like walking, feeding or toileting - cannot be independently performed.MOH’s moves in June to revoke the licences of Windsor Convalescent Home, a 45-bed home in Pasir Panjang and LC Nursing Home, a 93-bed home in Siglap, citing “serious and systemic” lapses in care and safety, should therefore be taken as a warning.
