Caregiver Support

• More physical touchpoints for information and referral:

- There are currently 8 AIC Links sited in 7 acute and community hospitals and Agency for Integrated Care’s (AIC) office @ Maxwell.

- (New) We have rolled out the first AIC Link in the community at Toa Payoh from 1 September 2019, with 3 more sites (Choa Chu kang, Nee Soon, Pasir Ris) to be rolled out by end-2019.

• One-stop information and resources:

AIC.sg and AIC Hotline (1800-650-6060)

• (New) Online platform to facilitate information navigation and access to care services:

Moments of Life online portal to provide Singaporeans and their caregivers with information and services related to the end-of-life journey; beta version by end-2019.

• (New) Health Marketplace:

E-platform to facilitate caregiver’s access to care services and products best suited to their needs by 2020.

• Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund to defray costs of assistive devices (e.g. mobility aids) and home healthcare items (e.g. milk feeds).
  
  
  
• Caregivers Training Grant ($200/yr) to offset training fees

Caregivers can use the grant to offset the training fees of courses to equip themselves with the necessary skills in caring for the physical and emotional needs of their care recipients.

• Levy concession of $60/mth when hiring Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW)

• (New) Home Caregiving Grant (HCG) to support caregiving in the community

HCG replaces the existing Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) Grant with an enhanced quantum of $200/mth to defray caregiving expenses such as the costs of hiring an FDW, the costs of home and community-based services, and transportation to medical appointments. Individuals can start submitting their applications for this new grant from 1 October 2019 through the Agency of Integrated Care (AIC).

• (New) Expanding use of MediSave to siblings

By end-2019, CPF members will be able to use their MediSave to pay for the healthcare expenses of their Singapore Citizen/Permanent Resident siblings

• Work-Life Grant (WLG) to encourage more employers to adopt flexible work arrangements

(New) MOM has increased the budget for the Work-Life Grant from $30M to $100M in July 2019 to allow more companies to benefit from the grant to sustain their employees’ adoption of Flexible Work Arrangements.

• Tripartite Standards (TS) on Flexible Work Arrangements, TS on Unpaid Leave for Unexpected Care Needs to encourage more employers to provide unpaid leave for urgent caregiving needs, e.g. hospitalisation.
  
  
  
• Adapt and Grow initiative to provide employment facilitation and support for jobseekers (e.g. job matching, training and wage subsidies), including caregivers who want to return to the workforce. Individuals can visit any of the Workforce Singapore's (WSG) Careers Connect and NTUC’s e2i centres for more information.

• Centre-based respite care at senior care centres for a few hours to a day

Caregivers can tap on the short-term respite care of a few hours so that they have time to attend to personal matters.

• Nursing home respite care for overnight stays from several days to a few weeks

Provides respite for caregivers who require longer break.

• (New) Shorter activation time for respite services

- A pre-enrolment programme, Go Respite, has been piloted since April 2019 to reduce the time required to activate respite care in senior care centres and nursing homes.

- Caregivers can register and complete some administrative processes in advance to reduce activation time forrespite care.

• (New) Night respite pilot for caregivers of seniors with dementia who experience behavioural and sleep issues at night

- Rollout of night respite care by second half of 2019, where seniors will be engaged through cognitive activities and tasks to help manage their behavioural and sleep issues.

- This respite care will allow caregivers, especially those who are working or caring for the senior in the day, to catch some rest at night.

• (New) Home-based respite for caregivers of end-of-life patients

- Caregivers of cancer patients on home palliative care can tap on this respite care to receive support in custodial care such as showering, dressing, feeding for the patient from 1 September 2019.

• (New) Evolve community outreach teams to support caregivers’ socio-emotional needs

 - AIC has evolved some community outreach teams to undertake a more focused approach to outreach and provide support for caregivers. As at August 2019, three caregiver community outreach teams have been set-up.

- These teams will support caregivers in self-care through health and wellness activities, stress management and future planning as well as linking them up with support groups and counselling services where needed.

• (New) Building caregiver support networks in the community

- Grow caregiver support networks across Dementia-Friendly Communities (DFCs) so that caregivers and their loved ones have platforms to interact and engage in activities. 

- Three caregiver support networks have been set-up to date.  

• (New) Enhancing eldercare training for caregivers

- AIC will work with training providers to offer the new ABCs of Caregiving Course that covers all essential skills needed to care for a senior’s daily needs, based on their mobility condition, by end-September 2019.

- AIC will partner training providers to train Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs) early in their employment, e.g. after they complete the Settling-In Programme.