SENIOR CITIZENS HEALTH CARE CENTRE

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Health to give details on the Senior Citizens Health Care Centre with respect to (i) the number and general geographical spread; (ii) the services provided and fees charged; (iii) the strategies employed to increase their use by senior citizens; and (iv) the future plans for expansion.

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: (i) The Senior Citizens_ Health Care Centres (SCHCCs) are run by the Home Nursing Foundation (HNF), a voluntary welfare organisation.

There are 7 SCHCCs, 2 in the eastern, 2 in the central and 3 in the western sectors of Singapore. The SCHCCs are located at the Bukit Batok, Jurong, Toa Payoh, Geylang, Hougang and Tampines polyclinics and at Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital. (ii) The primary function of SCHCCs is to provide day rehabilitation to disabled elderly. The services provided in the SCHCCs are rehabilitation and training in activities of daily living, for patients following strokes, management of incontinence, geriatric health screening and assessment, health education of the elderly and education of the carers in the care of the elderly. Transport to and from the Centres is also available.

The fees charged per visit to the SCHCC depend on the household income: Monthly Household Income Fee Per Visit Public Assistance Free <$1000 $5 $1000 - $2000 $10 >$2000-$3000 $15 >$3000 $20

The fees for transport vary depending on the distance travelled and the type of patient : Within 4 km - $2 for ambulant patients and $5 for wheelchair patients > 4 km - $6 for both ambulant and wheelchair patients. (iii) The SCHCCs are fully utilised presently. Each month, the total attendances for the various services average 11,000. The average attendance for rehabilitation is 7,000, 1,500 for health education and training in activities of daily living, and 2,500 for geriatric health screening and assessment. The Centres make about 5,000 trips to transport the elderly to the Centres for rehabilitation. (iv) The Ministry's plan is to encourage and assist Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) besides the HNF to set up rehabilitative day care centres for the elderly. At present, besides the 7 SCHCCs, there are 6 other rehabilitative day care centres for the elderly run by other VWOs :- 2 Apex Day Care Centres at Bukit Merah - Apex Club Ayer Rajah Day Care Centre - Ayer Rajah CCC Wan Qing Lodge at Jurong - Yuhua PAP Community Foundation and the Foo Hai Cha_n Monastery. Day Care Centre at Ling Kwang Home for Senior Citizens Day Rehabilitative Centre at St Andrew_s Community Hospital

Another 5 rehabilitative day care centres are being planned and should be operational in 1 - 2 years at the following locations : Bedok - Salvation Army Ang Mo Kio - Asian Women_s Welfare Association Geylang - Tzu Chi Merits Association Yishun - Salem Chapel Choa Chu Kang - HNF