COMMUNITY CARE PROGRAMMES TO ASSIST FAMILIES WITH AGED SICK

Dr S. Vasoo asked the Minister for Health what further plans are being made to strengthen community care programmes to assist family members with aged sick.

The Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Aline K. Wong) (for the Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Ministry is actively encouraging the further development of community-based health services to help family members look after the aged sick. My Ministry helps the voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) to find premises for the day centres and nursing homes. We also provide professional and funding assistance to them.

Currently, day rehabilitative care is available in 12 centres run by voluntary welfare organisations. Another four new day rehabilitative centres will become operational by 1996. In addition, there are two day care centres for the elderly with senile dementia. Community hospitals and nursing homes also provide short-term respite care for the elderly sick to give temporary relief to the families caring for them.

In the area of home care, my Ministry assists voluntary welfare organisations to provide home nursing and medical care to the home-bound elderly. Other services which help the elderly stay in their own homes include the provision of meals on wheels, assistance in personal hygiene, home cleaning and laundry services. These services are being expanded.

Our doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals are also helping several support groups to provide psychosocial support to care givers of the elderly with problems such as stroke, senile dementia and urinary incontinence.

Dr S. Vasoo (Tanjong Pagar GRC): Sir, are the support and assistance given to voluntary welfare organisations adequate enough at this juncture and what plans are there for the Ministry to help these organisations to be more effective?

Dr Aline Wong: Sir, as I mentioned, the Ministry provides both financial and professional support to the VWOs. Yes, some of the VWOs find that it is not easy to raise a certain proportion of the operating cost. We are looking into ways of helping them further. But these things have to go across the board and we need some time to work out better schemes to help in financing them. As far as professional support staff is concerned, there is a shortage of paramedics all over Singapore. So the VWOs are also finding it difficult to find volunteers as well as these staff. My Ministry is doing its best to help them find these people.