Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, at the AIC Community Care Manpower Development Award 2019

Mr Tan Kwang Cheak, Chief Executive Officer, Agency for Integrated Care

Distinguished guests

Award recipients

Ladies and gentlemen

1. A very good morning to one and all. I am indeed delighted to join you at the annual Community Care Manpower Development Award (CCMDA) ceremony.

2. Let me extend my warmest congratulations to our award recipients for this year, who have chosen a career in the community care sector and make a difference in the lives of our seniors. Since the introduction of CCMDA in 2017, close to 300 community care staff have tapped on the award for skills upgrading. It is truly heartening to see strong support from the community care employers who have helped to make this happen.

A time of transformation 

3. One in four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above by 2030, with more living with chronic illnesses. Amidst falling birth rates and cohort sizes, we will need to evolve and transform how we deliver care to support the growing demand in a sustainable way. 

4. Over the past couple of years, we have worked hard on care transformation in order to realise our goals, guided by what we call the three Beyonds. That is, to move ‘Beyond Hospital to Community’, ‘Beyond Quality to Value’ and ‘Beyond Healthcare to Health’. We have made progress in these areas. Firstly, our service capacity across community hospitals, nursing homes, home-based and centre-based services has expanded to support the goal to move care ‘Beyond the Hospital to the Community’. This means more Singaporeans have access to these care services in the community. We have also seen community care institutions piloting innovative care models to deliver more seamless care. For example, providers on the Integrated Home and Day Care pilot provide or coordinate care for their clients across a suite of services in both home- and community-based settings. More community care institutions have come on board. When the pilot was first launched in 2016 there were 4 providers offering the service at 6 sites, and as at mid-2019 this year, we have 11 providers at 17 sites across Singapore. To-date, the programme has benefitted over 800 seniors. We are also on track to meeting our planned capacities for community care services. Since 2015, we have added 2,700 day care places and 2,300 home care places to encourage ageing in place. We have also added 3,100 nursing home beds during the same period. 

5. Going forward, the community care sector will continue to play an important role in transforming care delivery to the population, and I am excited that you will be part of this journey.

Beyond Healthcare to Health by strengthening linkages 

6. In transforming care, we need to take a broader approach – to take care of not just those who are ill and need medical care, but also those who are healthy, and keep them healthy. This means we will need to shift from addressing patients’ specific health conditions to ensuring their overall wellbeing, which may include seniors’ social and mental needs. 

7. In 2018, some of the social aged functions and programmes under the Ministry of Social and Family Development, including senior activity centres and befriending, were transferred to MOH. This allows us to better integrate health and social care. It also enables us to support seniors both when they are healthy and when they need care. MOH is currently reviewing the eldercare landscape to enhance the scope and reach of services in our eldercare centres. These include Senior Activity Centres, Senior Care Centres and Active Ageing Hubs. For instance, centres providing day care services may offer additional wellness programmes and these services could be made available to all seniors, not just those living in rental flats. So what we want to do is to be able to expand capacity and reach to all seniors who are in need of care.

8. We are also piloting assisted living options to support seniors who wish to live independently in a familiar environment. Taken together, these efforts are intended to better enable seniors to age in place and have a positive ageing experience. This is extremely important, especially when we have an ageing society.

Transforming our workforce 

9. As our community care landscape evolves, new roles will emerge, new skills will be in demand, and how we work will change. At the heart of care transformation is the transformation of our workforce. This is why we have partnered the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to grow and develop the community care workforce over the past years.  Since it was launched in 2017, we have committed close to $8 million under the CCMDA for our community care workforce to pursue training and skills upgrading opportunities in fields such as nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and gerontology. Over 200 awardees are in-service staff. These awardees have gone on to serve in various community care institutions, and helped to deliver better care for our seniors.

Deepening skills and adaptability 

10. Amidst an evolving community care sector, being adaptable and open to learning will be valued traits for any role in the sector. Let me share the story of Mr Andy Ang, who demonstrated these qualities. A former accountant, Andy made a mid-career switch to join the sector as a programme executive at TOUCH Community Services. In his role, he oversees the Activity Centre in Yishun and organises daily active ageing programmes for clients from various social backgrounds. Realising that he needed further training to better engage seniors in ageing actively, Andy expressed interest in acquiring formal education in gerontology. On learning his interest, his supervisor supported his CCMDA application to enrol in the Master’s programme in Gerontology at the Singapore University of Social Sciences. Andy shared that the Master’s programme has equipped him with insights to develop more meaningful activities for his clients at the centre. With newfound knowledge and work experiences, he now feels more empowered to deliver holistic care to seniors at the centre. 

Broadening experience across care settings 

11. An evolving sector also presents new opportunities for our healthcare staff to grow – not just in deepening skills, but also in broadening their experiences across different care settings. As an occupational therapist at St Luke’s Hospital, Ms Jolyn Lai provides care for patients who are recovering from surgery or with other medical conditions such as stroke. Beyond working in the community hospital, Jolyn also conducts home visits to assess the suitability of the environment for recovery prior to discharging patients. On one occasion, she even accompanied a 70-year-old patient to her favourite coffee shop as part of her therapy sessions after a knee replacement surgery. This has helped the patient regain her confidence in taking public transport independently. Jolyn is now on a one-year full-time degree programme with the Singapore Institute of Technology, supported by CCMDA. I hope she will continue to broaden her experience, and stay open to delivering care in different settings – even at her patients’ favourite coffee shops! 

Keeping a right mindset

12. In this exciting time of change, every community care staff can be an agent of change. It will be critical to approach your journey into community care with an eagerness to learn, be willing to step outside of your comfort zone, and stay open-minded. 

13. The story of Senior Nurse Manager Jessie Zhao is yet another inspiring story. Over the past 12 years working in the community care sector, she has cared for patients with various needs, such as rehabilitative, sub-acute and palliative care. As a nursing leader, Jessie is actively involved in mentoring her fellow nurses. She has also continued to upskill herself and attained an advanced diploma in gerontology, a specialist diploma in palliative care and a Master’s degree in clinical leadership management. Last year, she joined Outram Community Hospital as a Senior Nurse Manager and took on the new challenge of planning for the new community hospital. With CCMDA’s support, Jessie went on an attachment programme in the UK to deepen her knowledge about palliative care. Her openness to learning is indeed remarkable and I hope she will continue to be a role model to her peers.

Closing

14. It is definitely a time of transformation in the community care sector, and an opportune time to be a part of it. As a professional caregiver in the community, you are counted on to deliver good care to clients, by building trust with them and with the care team that you work with. As you progress on this journey, I hope you will continue to deepen your skills, broaden your experiences, and work collaboratively across disciplines.

15. Once again, my heartiest congratulations to the award recipients and let me wish all of you a pleasant and meaningful day. Thank you very much.