Intermediate and long term care (ILTC) services are typically required for persons who need further care after being discharged from an acute hospital as well as community-dwelling seniors who may be frail and need someone to watch over them or to help them with their daily needs.
To find out how to apply for these services, please use this link.
Home-Based Services
Home-based services are provided within the homes of frail and home-bound elderly who find it difficult to access services in the community. The services address both health and social care needs, and support families in the care of their seniors with the aim to help seniors age in place. The services include:
Home Medical Care
Home Medical Care involves doctors visiting the elderly in their residences to provide medical services. This includes conducting minor medical procedures, comprehensive care assessments and providing long-term management of chronic conditions.
To find out how to apply for home medical services, please use this link.
Home Nursing Care
Home Nursing Care involves nurses providing nursing care such as wound dressing, injections, stoma care and insertion of nasogastric tubes at the senior’s residence. These nurses also play a key role in managing and reviewing the care plan of the patient, in consultation with doctors, as well as providing caregiver training.
To find out how to apply for home nursing services, please use this link.
Home Palliative Care
Home palliative care delivers medical and nursing care to end-of-life patients and their families at the senior’s residence. The focus of home palliative care is to improve the quality of the patient’s remaining days through services such as pain control, symptom relief and nursing care. It also supports the families through bereavement care.
To find out how to apply for home palliative care services, please use this link.
Meals-On-Wheels
Meals-on-Wheels is a meal delivery programme that delivers daily meals to the home-bound elderly who are unable to buy or prepare meals and have no caregivers to assist them.
To find out how to apply for Meals-on-Wheels, please use this link.
Medical Escort and Transport Services
Medical Escort and Transport services provide escort and transportation for the senior’s medical appointments if they are unable to attend on their own and/or have no suitable caregivers to take them for their appointments.
To find out how to apply for escort and transport services, please use this link.
Home Personal Care
Home Personal Care involves having a trained carer assist the senior in their daily needs. This includes assisting with showering, housekeeping, medication reminders, mind-stimulating activities and other personal care tasks. Some providers under this service are able to look after seniors (including those with dementia) at their homes when caregiving arrangements are not available.
To find out how to apply for home personal care services, please use this link.
Day Hospice Care
Day hospice care provides medical, nursing and psychosocial care in a centre-based environment to end-of-life patients.
To find out how to apply for day hospice care services, please use this link.
Centre-Based Services
Centre-based care services cater to seniors who require care services during the day, usually on a regular basis, and are available at eldercare centres such as Day Care Centres, Dementia Day Care Centres, Day Rehabilitation Centres, Senior Care Centres or Active Ageing Hubs. These centres are mostly located within the community, enabling those in need to receive services in a familiar environment close to their homes, and providing care for them while their family members are at work.
For more information on eldercare centres, please use this link.
Community Rehabilitation Services
Community Rehabilitation aims to enable seniors to regain or maintain their ability to perform daily activities, thereby allowing them to remain active and independent within the community. These services include the provision of physiotherapy and occupational therapy targeted at people suffering from conditions (e.g. stroke, fractures, lower limb amputation, mental health conditions) that impair their ability to perform daily activities.
To find out how to apply for community rehabilitation services, please use this link.
Day Care Services
Day care services aim to look after seniors during the day. They aim to maintain a senior’s health, well-being and ability to live independently in the community. Day care centres provide opportunities for socialising among seniors as well as assistance with activities of daily living such as eating and other activities such as exercise, handicraft sessions, reading, karaoke, etc.). Day care centres also support and empower caregivers to continue caring for their loved ones through programmes such as support groups and talks.
To find out how to apply for day care services, please use this link.
Dementia Day Care Services
Dementia day care services aim to look after seniors suffering from dementia during the day. The aim is to slow down the deterioration of physical and mental functions of seniors with dementia. Dementia day care also focuses on programmes for cognitive stimulation and the preservation of personal identity, which especially benefit seniors with dementia.
To find out how to apply for dementia day care services, please use this link.
Residential ILTC Services
The residential ILTC services comprise community hospitals, chronic sick hospitals, nursing homes, the inpatient hospice palliative care service (IHPCS), and rehabilitation homes and sheltered homes for persons in mental health recovery. They comprise:
Community Hospitals
Community Hospitals are intermediate care facilities. They cater to patients who require a short period of continuing care, usually after their discharge from acute hospitals. The types of care provided at the Community Hospitals include medical, nursing and rehabilitation care.
For more information on Community Hospital care, please use this link.
Chronic Sick Units
Chronic Sick Units provide frequent maintenance, medical and skilled nursing care on a long-term basis to persons with advanced and complicated chronic medical conditions.
Nursing Homes
Nursing Homes are long-term residential care settings that provide a range of services to residents who have no family support and require assistance with most of their activities of daily living and/or daily nursing care. These nursing home residents are typically unable to be cared for at home by family members, caregivers or service providers. The services at nursing homes include medical care, nursing care and rehabilitative services.
Respite care is also available at some of the nursing homes where provision for short-term care of a few weeks can be arranged.
To find out how to apply for nursing home admission, please use this link.
To look for a nursing home near your home, please use this link.
VWO Nursing Homes receiving MOH subsidies
Patients who meet the means test criteria are referred by Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) to VWO Nursing Homes which receive MOH subsidies. The VWOs provide additional support if the patient requires further financial and social assistance.
VWO Nursing Homes that do not receive MOH subsidies
Some VWO-operated Nursing Homes are funded through their own fund-raising and do not receive MOH subsidies. Although patients here are not subsidised by MOH, these VWOs are able to provide the necessary financial and social assistance to patients who are unable to afford the Nursing Home fees.
Private Nursing Homes which are under MOH portable subsidy scheme
Since April 2003, MOH has extended subsidies to patients who meet the means test criteria and are admitted to accredited Private Nursing Homes. These homes have set aside a certain proportion of their beds for patients who are eligible for MOH subsidies and referred by AIC. This allows for greater private sector participation in the provision of MOH-subsidised care.
Private Nursing Homes which are not under the MOH portable subsidy scheme
These are Private Nursing Homes, which cater to full-paying patients.
To find out how to apply for nursing home services, please use this link.
Rehabilitation Homes for Persons in Mental Health Recovery
A rehabilitation home caters to persons with stabilised mental health conditions who are in recovery and require a period of residential-based rehabilitation of life-skills training, with the potential for eventual reintegration back into the community.
To find out how to apply for a rehabilitation home, please use this link.
Sheltered Home for Persons in Mental Health Recovery
A sheltered home provides low-level care for persons with stabilised mental health conditions who are in recovery, are largely independent in daily living skills, but require interim accommodation and supportive management to facilitate eventual reintegration back into the community.
To find out how to apply for a sheltered home, please use this link.
Inpatient Hospice Palliative Care Service (IHPCS)
The Inpatient Hospice Palliative Care Service (IHPCS) serves end-of-life patients who cannot be cared for at home and require inpatient care.
To find out more,
please use this link.
Respite Care
Respite care provides short-term care of several days, up to a month, at some nursing homes. Centre-based respite care is also available in some senior care centres for caregivers who need help for a few hours over the weekend.
To find out how to apply for nursing home respite care services, please use this link.
To find out how to apply for centre-based weekend respite care services, please use this link.