Crunch on specialised transport to care centres and centre placement for seniors

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament

Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong

Non-Constituency MP

Question No. 2061

To ask the Minister for Health whether there is a crunch in the specialised transportation of seniors to care centres and, if so, how is this affecting the placement of seniors in these centres.

Oral Reply

1               All eldercare centres funded by the Ministry of Health (MOH) are required to provide transport services for their clients, where necessary, as part of the funding condition.  This ensures that clients can access the care services they need. The government provides transport subsidies for subsidised clients who require mobility assistance.

2               Centres can tap on a range of transport options to serve their clients.  New centres may apply for a one-time grant to defray the costs of purchasing a wheelchair-friendly van.  Alternatively, centres may engage the appointed transport operators under the AIC centralised transport service to send seniors to and from the centres.  AIC also works with taxi operators and private hire car operators to expand the range of transport services available to centres.  For example, AIC has engaged ComfortDelgro to provide scheduled transport services for centre clients.

3               From time-to-time, some centres may encounter short-term challenges in accessing transport services.  For example, some centres may take more time to purchase and modify a van, or to enter into arrangements with their preferred transport operators.  When any centre faces transport difficulties, we encourage them to inform us and AIC will work with them to find alternative transport arrangements so that there is minimal impact on client placement.