TRAINED HEALTHCARE WORKERS (Adequacy)

Mr Ang Mong Seng asked the Minister for Health whether there are adequate numbers of trained healthcare workers to look after our greying population and the subsidised transport needs of needy elderly citizens who have to attend regular medical check-ups at the hospitals; and whether the revised ambulance charges will affect them.

The Senior Minister of State for Health (Dr Aline K. Wong) (for the Minister for Health): Most of the elderly are healthy. For the sick and dependent elderly, they require different levels and types of care which are provided by the family members as well as healthcare professionals. The Ministry is coordinating special training programmes for healthcare professionals and home carers to cater to the special needs of the elderly. These include:

Firstly, geriatricians, who are physicians who sub-specialise in medical care of the elderly. They usually work in geriatric departments in acute hospitals. As geriatric care is a relatively new specialty in Singapore, we are in the process of training more doctors in this specialty. There are currently 15 geriatricians in Singapore, with another five in training. We target to have 23 geriatricians by the year 2000.

Secondly, general practitioners play a major role in looking after the elderly. The School of Postgraduate Medical Studies is starting a Postgraduate Diploma course in geriatric medicine in September this year. This one year course which incorporates elements of distance-learning will allow many more doctors to be better trained in looking after the elderly.

Thirdly, nurses who have undergone post-basic training in gerontology. Currently, 117 nurses have advanced diplomas in gerontology. The Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Health Sciences is able to train about 25 registered nurses in this advanced diploma course every year. There is also a course for assistant nurses run by the School of Nursing on Care of the Elderly to complement the registered nurses.

Fourthly, nursing aides are trained in simple nursing skills relevant to the needs of the elderly.

Finally, community-based service providers do provide training for family carers to look after their sick elderly at home.

As to the second part of Mr Ang's question, the ambulance service by the Singapore Civil Defence Forces (SCDF) is provided for emergencies. The increase in charges by the SCDF from $50 to $75 refers to non-emergencies who use these ambulances. The elderly who require transport for routine medical check-ups at hospitals and clinics are not affected by the SCDF's increased ambulance charges, as in the first place, they should not be using those ambulances.