Variety of care options available for seniors to age well

MOH's reply

Variety of care options available for seniors to age well

We thank Mr Peter Loon for his letter (Paradigm shift needed for eldercare, Sept 23).

Over the years, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has focused on supporting seniors to age well.

Many seniors prefer to grow old where they live, and with or close to their loved ones.

We want to provide care options to enable seniors to live with purpose, even if they later need some degree of care. Hence, we have put in place various home-and community-based options to meet seniors' different care needs.

For frail seniors, we have more than doubled the capacity of home and community care services since 2011.

These include centre-based services, such as dementia daycare and community rehabilitation services, and home-based care services, such as home nursing and home personal care.

The Integrated Home and Day Care programme, one of the newer initiatives, gives seniors the flexibility to be cared for at home or in the centres, depending on their condition.

Our Community Networks for Seniors sews up the last mile of care delivery, by strengthening networks with community partners to improve care coordination and integration.

Frail seniors with weak family support may be cared for in nursing homes.

MOH has been improving nursing home designs and their living environment for better comfort and support.

For example, newer nursing homes built by the Government have a smaller cluster of beds, and common living and dining spaces to encourage interaction among residents and visitors.

We are also piloting new models of care, like the Dementia Care Village, which aims to provide a range of care services catered to persons with dementia within a residential development. We will also be piloting assisted-living developments in public housing next year, where housing is twinned with care services.

The Housing Board has also introduced programmes to make homes more elderly friendly.

Its Enhancement for Active Seniors programme allows the installation of elderly-friendly fittings, including ramps at home entrances. Two-room flexi flats for the elderly also come with additional features such as grab bars at the toilets and switches that are positioned lower for easy reach.

MOH will continue to build the community care system to support seniors to keep active and healthy, and to provide good-quality care to frail seniors.

Soh Xin Yi
Director
Successful Ageing
Ageing Planning Office
Ministry of Health

Forum Letter

Paradigm shift needed for eldercare

Singapore has the longest life expectancy in the world, and more Singaporeans are living out their final years alone.

We need a paradigm shift on how we look after the elderly, with the emphasis shifting to quality of life rather than longevity.

With more people staying single as well as more elderly parents living apart from their children, the old model of relying on children to look after the elderly is no longer viable.

Old folks' homes of the past were structured to house many people at low cost, with less regard for comfort and privacy.

This needs to change to allow the aged to stay happy and in an interactive environment that still affords some boundaries.

Different homes can also cater to different budgets.

The elderly can live in a secure environment that has nursing and home care in close proximity, without the need for a maid.

Close friends may choose to stay in the same compound, forming small cells.

Let's look harder at liveability. Some flats have ramps that are so steep they are nearly impossible to use. And there are still too many steps before a resident reaches his home. Designers need to sit on a wheelchair and try it out for themselves.

The placement of switches, the brightness of lamps, the types of door handles and even the font size of lift monitors should be taken into consideration.

Finally, not all elderly people are infirm. So the retired can be kept active with facilities that are close by and activities more varied than just karaoke sessions or mahjong.

The last leg of life should be just as enriching and enjoyable as the ones that come before.

Let's start planning now because everyone gets old.

The Straits Times, 23 September 2019
Peter Loon Seng Chee