Holistic plan to help Singaporeans age well

MOH's Reply

Sunday Times, 28 August 2016

Holistic plan to help Singaporeans age well

We thank Dr Chey Chor Khoon ("VWOs have a role in eldercare") and Dr Lee Siew Peng ("Get moving on helping people age well"; both published last Sunday) for their views on ageing well in Singapore, and we agree that we need to take a holistic view on this issue.

The Ministerial Committee on Ageing has launched a $3 billion Action Plan for Successful Ageing that covers more than 70 initiatives across 12 areas - spanning from employment and learning to transport and housing - as a coordinated whole-of-society approach to prepare for a rapidly ageing Singapore.

With initiatives at the individual, community and city levels, the action plan has clear programmes and specific targets to help the elderly lead healthy and active lives.

Under the action plan, we are promoting community befriending programmes, as mentioned by Dr Chey.

More information can be found on www.successful-ageing.sg

At the same time, we have continued to improve and evolve aged care services.

For instance, we are co-locating and integrating residential, day care and home care services, so as to serve our seniors holistically.

In particular, we are focusing on enhancing home and day care, as well as building Active Ageing Hubs in new HDB developments, to enable seniors to age with dignity in their own homes.

We are forming partnerships with agencies and voluntary welfare organisations to promote active ageing and enhance aged care in many communities.

We encourage more Singaporeans to partner us to make Singapore a nation for all ages.

Lim Bee Khim (Ms)

Director

Corporate Communications

Ministry of Health

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Forum Letter

Sunday Times, 21 August 2016

VWOs have a role in eldercare

Opinion editor Chua Mui Hoong dissected two very important issues concerning growing old in Singapore - what choices we have and whether we can afford them ("When I'm 64...what kind of Singapore can I grow old in?"; Aug 7).

She is not alone in wanting to live in familiar surroundings in her old age.

Studies have found that most elderly people prefer to "age in place" - to live in their own homes, in their own neighbourhoods and among friends and people they know - than to live in an institution among strangers and have to conform to regimented routines.

This finding is also borne out in the interactions my colleagues and I have with seniors.

This is about choice - being able to decide where they live, and how to live. Whether seniors are able to exercise this choice depends largely on their physical well-being, the availability of caregiving, as well as their financial means.

Not too long ago, if one was frail and unable to take care of oneself, one had no choice but to move into an institution.

But organisations are coming forward to provide support for seniors to age in place.

Volunteers and staff at Lions Befrienders understand the desire of seniors to live in familiar surroundings.

We are, therefore, gearing ourselves up to provide home-nursing and home-care support to seniors who live alone, in addition to our ongoing befriending services for seniors who have no family support and live in HDB rental flats.

On the issue of affordability, young Singaporeans would do well for themselves and their families to take retirement planning very seriously.

Many of the seniors we serve have no savings, no Central Provident Fund money left, and no other sources of funds apart from public assistance from the Government.

To be old, sick and poor is a triple whammy. We cannot avoid old age, but we can do something early in our lives to minimise ill health and poverty. Any scheme that ensures financial security for our seniors will be welcome.

In response to Ms Chua's question, "Will you heed me, will you change for me, before I'm 64?", I would say that even if government policies do not change in time, voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) like ours will be ready to care for future seniors.

Chey Chor Khoon (Dr)

Executive Director

Lions Befrienders Service Association (Singapore)

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Forum Letter

Sunday Times, 21 August 2016

Get moving on helping people age well

Any 51-year-old should really think about how well he wishes to age.

So should Singapore, as it turns 51 this year.

The problem is that young people who think their bodies are infallible are often the policymakers. When they realise something more must be done, it may often be too late ("When I'm 64...what kind of Singapore can I grow old in?"; Aug 7).

I have had a head start, having studied ageing since 1984. My conclusions are:

• We need holistic thinking.

• Housing Board flats, transport, town planning and so on need to be redesigned to help seniors "age in place".

• Employers need to plan for an ageing work force and/or one that has to care for our elders.

• Young people need a career progression/training structure so that we have the best to look after our elders.

• We must invest in technology, including robotics, to help the elderly age with dignity.

• It may be that we will need to sell our homes to pay for care.

• We need to discuss dying and "end-of-life" options with our loved ones while we are still lucid enough to do so.

The Lien Foundation proposal for home-like settings for our elders sounds very much like the Green House Project in the United States pioneered by Dr Bill Thomas. It may sound expensive to develop and sustain, but these homes have reduced hospital admissions and bed-blocking (thereby saving money), enhanced the quality of care (happier residents, more assured family members) and raised the self-esteem of carers (happier employees, lower staff turnover).

I recently found myself with a medical problem that left me in such debilitating pain that I could not even sign my name or raise my hand to my mouth. My husband had to cut up food for me. This was a reminder. My soul does not inhabit an infallible body, despite going to the gym twice a week.

The sooner we recognise this, the sooner we will find the impetus to do something.

Lee Siew Peng (Dr)