Care for Oldest to Old

16 Sep 2010

Question No:  544   

Question

Name of the Person: Assoc. Prof Paulin Tay Straughan, Nominated Member

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what is the health profile of Singaporeans aged 85 years and older; (b) what is the proportion of these Singaporeans in institutional care facilities; and (c) what constraints does the Ministry face in providing for the health care needs of this segment of the population.

Reply

Reply From MOH

1. About 28,000 Singaporeans are 85 years or older. Half of them are being treated on an outpatient basis for diabetes, high blood pressure or high blood cholesterol. Other significant diseases which afflict this group of seniors are dementia, vision disorders, hearing loss and arthritis.

2. Each year, about 1 in 3 (35%) of them would require hospitalisation. The most common reasons were injuries (e.g. resulting from falls), pneumonia, stroke, cancer and heart disease.

3. About 9% of them are cared for in a nursing home. Among those living at home, two in three have no difficulty with basic activities of daily living and self care. But about 6% have difficulties in at least 3 basic activities of daily living.

4. Caring for the very old requires more care and assistance. I have spoken at length about the various initiatives and efforts that we are putting in place to cope with the increasing health needs of our ageing population, including a reply to the Member in Parliament last month. I will not repeat them.

5. For the current cohort of the very old, we are mindful that they did not have the benefit of accumulating sufficient Medisave for their old-age health needs. Whenever possible, the Government tops up their Medisave accounts proportionally more. MediShield does not currently cover them but we have set aside funds under Medifund Silver as their safety net. And we will continue to top it up whenever Government budget has sufficient surplus to do so.