300 long-term IMH patients who are stable to move to nursing homes

Around 300 patients who have been at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for a long time but no longer require acute inpatient care will be gradually moved into nursing homes in the next few years.

- Joyce Teo

This is aimed at freeing up beds in the packed psychiatric hospital, National Healthcare Group (NHG) chief executive Joe Sim told The Straits Times on the sidelines of IMH’s Nurses Day event on July 26.

Such patients have been in IMH for at least one year for various reasons, including a lack of family support.

IMH, which has around 2,000 beds, is almost full.

Long-staying patients there total about 1,000.

IMH chief executive Daniel Fung said that the hospital’s aim is to find more appropriate residential settings, including nursing homes, for around 600 of its long-stayers in total.