Developing Affordable Home-based Care for Ageing Population

Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Health (a) how many residents are currently seeking home-based nursing care; (b) what are the current support for lower income families seeking home-based nursing care; and (c) what are the long-term plans to develop affordable home-care for our ageing population.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Over 4,200 residents are currently receiving Government subsidies for home-based nursing care provided by MOH-subvented providers. This is an increase of 15% from a year ago. Up to two-thirds of Singaporean households can meet the income criteria for receiving these subsidies. Lower income households will receive higher levels of subsidies, which can be up to 80%.

In addition, the Government also supports caregivers of seniors in other ways. For example, the Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) provides funding to offset the cost of assistive devices and home healthcare items. Families who need to hire a Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) to care for frail seniors may be eligible for a concessionary levy, as well as the FDW Grant, to help offset the cost of hiring a FDW.

We aim to expand home-based care service capacity to 10,000 places by 2020. We will also continue to work on the quality and affordability of home and community based care services. For example, we recently introduced "Integrated Home and Day Care" services where home-based care is paired with care at day centres. This flexible model enables seniors to interact with others on days when they are well, and cared for at home on other days. We are currently reviewing the Eldershield scheme to help Singaporeans better prepare for the costs of long term care.