SPEECH BY MR TAN KIAT HOW, SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE, MDDI & MOH, AT THE SINGHEALTH COMMUNITY FORUM 2025

Professor Lee Chien Earn, Deputy Group CEO (Regional Health System), SingHealth

Professor Tan Hiang Khoon, CEO, Singapore General Hospital

Colleagues from the health and social sectors

Ladies and gentlemen,

               I am delighted to join you today at SingHealth’s Community Forum 2025, and happy to see so many familiar faces – people from many programmes in the community, the eastern part of Singapore, and the Bedok area where there are a lot of seniors there. I’ve personally seen some of the programmes that have been done for the community make a real difference to many our elderly. So very happy to be here today. This forum has been a useful platform to recognise and inspire more partnerships between our healthcare providers and community care organisations, as we work towards improving the health of our population and supporting more to age in place.

The Pressing Challenge Before Us

2.               As we gather here today, we are also at a crucial juncture in Singapore's healthcare journey. Our traditional healthcare model has served us well, but as our population ages and healthcare needs evolve, we must ask ourselves: How do we create a healthcare system that doesn't just treat illness, but actively promotes health and wellbeing?

3.               The answer lies not in just building more hospitals or adopting the latest medical innovation, but in fundamentally reimagining how we deliver care, leverage technology, and design our communities to enable healthier living. What we need to do is to shift towards a proactive model where health promotion and disease prevention become part of our daily lives – where our neighbourhoods, workplaces, and social spaces are designed to make it easier for individuals to make healthier choices. And this transformation requires us to think beyond traditional healthcare boundaries and embrace a more holistic, community-centred approach.

From Vision to Reality

4.               And we have taken steps towards this vision through Healthier SG. Our three clusters are tasked, as regional health managers, to develop an integrated health and social ecosystem within their region. They are partnering Government agencies such as the Agency for Integrated Care, Health Promotion Board, People’s Association and Sport Singapore to support our residents to sustain healthier lifestyle habits through accessible programmes delivered near their homes. But much more can be done. And today’s forum focuses on three promising areas.

5.               First, as Professor Lee Chien Earn earlier mentioned, integrating health and social care. Since launching Age Well SG in November 2023, we have expanded our Active Ageing Centre (AAC) network from 154 centres to 224 centres. These AACs aren't just social spaces – they offer diverse programmes across five key domains: social, physical, cognitive, learning, and volunteerism. You might find seniors learning robotics, producing podcasts, or even engaging in e-sports at these centres. Some may be participating in frailty prevention programmes, run in collaboration with our clusters.

6.               About nine in 10 of these AACs now have Cluster-led Community Health Posts either on-site or nearby. This means seniors can access both social activities and health services in one familiar location. And that is a good start.

7.               In the next phase, we will tighten the care pathways across Community Health Posts, AACs, and the rest of the health and community care system. This will allow us to better support those who can manage their conditions within the community, such as those with chronic diseases.

8.               And a second area is about transforming care delivery through technology. The manpower needs of our eldercare sector will continue to grow. And we will need to creatively and boldly deploy technology. Not just to increase efficiency, but also to improve care outcomes, and free up our care staff to do what they do best: providing that human touch that technology cannot replace.

9.               In some of our nursing homes, Autonomous Mobile Robots now handle routine tasks like delivering food, linen, and supplies, while humanoid robots engage residents in conversation. Pre-programmed with songs and interactive games, these robots do not just provide therapy – they offer companionship and engage seniors with dementia in meaningful activities. Our centres have also started using SilverPads loaded with senior-friendly cognitive games, designed with clear, large buttons and locally relevant content. These devices not only improve cognitive functions but will hopefully also help seniors gain confidence and comfort in the use of digital tools. These are just some examples of innovations which I hope to see scale up across the whole sector.

10.           And a third area is about reshaping our built environment to support active ageing. This goes beyond making isolated changes – it's about transforming entire neighbourhoods into spaces where seniors can live independently and confidently. We are doing this as part of broader Age Well SG efforts. Besides expanding the AAC network, we will make meaningful enhancements to make the living environment more senior-friendly.

11.           Let me share what this would look like on the ground. First, our Friendly Streets initiative is enhancing the walking journeys to the places that matter in our seniors’ daily lives: markets, hawker centres, MRT stations, and community spaces. Through features such as barrier-free crossings, longer green-man signals, more traffic calming measures, and lower speed limits, residents will now have a safer, more convenient and comfortable pedestrian experience. We have completed five pilot sites, and the community response has been encouraging. The construction works for 10 more sites will begin this year, and by 2030, we plan to expand this to all towns in Singapore. And that is at the street level.

12.           At the HDB estate level, senior-friendly enhancements will be introduced for selected HDB estates under the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme, and the Silver Upgrading Programme. These include fitness trails to support healthy living, as well as rest points along pathways to boost walkability.

13.           Within homes, a wide range of subsidised senior-friendly fittings are provided under the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme to improve the mobility and safety of seniors in their own homes.

14.           And so these initiatives work together to create what I describe as 'senior-friendly neighbourhoods’ – places where seniors can easily access amenities, stay socially connected, and receive the care they need, all while maintaining their independence. This is what ageing in place truly means – at the estate level, at the precinct level and in homes, making sure that they are senior-friendly and supporting our elderly.

Charting New Paths Forward

15.           This brings me to SingHealth’s development of Healthy, Empowered and Active Living (HEAL) Labs, where these concepts are put into action, and where ideas are brought to impact. HEAL Labs are innovative community spaces set up by SingHealth to explore and test new health initiatives to address specific community needs. What makes these labs truly special is their collaborative nature – they bring together expertise from academia, healthcare providers, and social service agencies, while actively involving community members in designing and testing health programmes. This ensures that the solutions are not just theoretically sound, but practical and relevant to different communities.

16.           Let me share the story of Mr Singh, a retired musician living in a 2-room HDB flat. Mr Singh was once active and passionate about community activities. However, chronic pain and stiffness have confined him to his home, highlighting a common challenge among our seniors – where physical limitations can erode their social connections and quality of life.

17.           Since November last year, SingHealth’s Heal Labs in Bedok and Marine Parade have studied over 560 seniors, including Mr Singh, to understand how they interact with their environment and community. The insights show that solutions need to be both practical and personalised.

18.           The Joyful Village project exemplifies this approach. Supported by SingHealth, Changi General Hospital, Changi Simei Grassroots Organisations, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and SAA Architects, it transforms underutilised spaces like MRT viaducts into vibrant community gardens. Seniors teach younger residents traditional farming methods and collaborate with dieticians to create nutritious meals and foster social bonds. For seniors like Mr Singh, these accessible spaces offer more than just activities, but purpose and connection.

19.           Building on this success, I am pleased to announce SingHealth’s third HEAL Lab at Redhill, which will focus on tackling dementia and supporting caregivers.  Based on the second Well-Being of the Singapore Elderly (WiSE) study, in 2023, one in 11 seniors aged 60 years and above had dementia.

20.           To better support this group, SingHealth has worked with community partners, such as Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, Montfort Care, NTUC Health and Allkin Singapore, as well as AIC and MOH, to co-create the IMPRESS-MIND2S programme. This goes beyond another health programme; it is a personalised approach to detecting and delaying cognitive decline, working with seniors who have mild or no cognitive impairment, and their caregivers. And what makes this approach different from others is how it weaves interventions into daily life, with activities designed to fit naturally into seniors' existing routines. We are not asking seniors to change their routines but a more practical and accessible way to weave these into their daily routines to make it more natural for them.

21.           And the initiatives we have discussed today demonstrate how integrating health and social support, thoughtful technology deployment, and enabling environments can work together to support our seniors. Through HEAL Labs and programmes like IMPRESS-MIND2S, we hope to see more like-minded organisations come together to bring ideas to impact, and deliver community-centric solutions that address real needs on the ground.

Closing

22.           So in closing, I would like to commend SingHealth and all our community partners here today for your dedication to our seniors, and to our call to action to fundamentally reimagine how we support our them in their environment and in their homes.

23.           So I look forward to witnessing how these initiatives evolve and contribute to building a healthier Singapore – one where every resident, regardless of age, can live their lives to the fullest in the community, with dignity, purpose and joy. And I thank all for you for your dedication and commitment to this important work. Thank you very much.