Singapore - Govt moves urgently to expand aged care services

SINGAPORE: The government is moving with urgency to expand aged care services to cope with an expected surge in demand when the pace of ageing in the population starts to accelerate.

By 2020, it wants to at least double the outreach of home-based healthcare services - from the current 4,000.

Home-based social care will also be beefed up from the existing 2,000 to 7,500.

The Health Ministry will expand the number of day social and rehabilitative care places - from 2,100 to about 6,200.

It will also increase manpower and resources to Seniors Activity Centres to serve up to 48,000 - from the 18,000 seniors served today.

The government wants to build more Seniors Activity Centres so that they can reach out to the growing number of vulnerable seniors.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong announced these plans at a Ministerial Committee on Ageing dialogue session with stakeholders on Friday morning.

He said the government has to act now, as the first cohort of Baby Boomers turns 65 years old this year.

By 2020, some 600,000 people will be above the age of 65, and from there, the pace of ageing will start to accelerate. This means 15 per cent of the population will be above 65 years of age.

"2020 is less than 10 years away. We must be ready when rapid ageing sets in. Now is the time to gear up and plan ahead - our services, our infrastructure facilities and our capabilities - to better support the evolving needs of our growing population of seniors," said Mr Gan.

On its part, the government will not only plan, but act ahead to prepare for an ageing population.

So the ministry will expand new care services, including stronger transition care post-discharge from hospitals, as well as further develop transitional convalescence facilities, to rehabilitate seniors.

Mr Gan also announced plans to ramp up the number of nursing home beds by some 70 per cent to 15,600.

He said there will also be a stronger push for home palliative care services.

On its part, the Ministerial Committee on Ageing will review aged care financing schemes to make aged care more affordable.

The government is also thinking of developing more aged care facilities like day centres and nursing homes under a Build-Own-Lease model.

Mr Gan said the ministry will aggregate demand and develop manpower for the sector.

To help raise productivity, he has also prepared to work with stakeholders to study how IT can be maximised.

The Ministerial Committee on Ageing was set up in 2007 to promote active ageing as Singapore's population rapidly ages.

- CNA/cc


Business & Investment Opportunities

YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.