Singapore looks to boost after-hours care for elderly

Care services for the elderly after office hours is one of the gaps that need to be plugged to boost the elderly care services in Singapore, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong has said. Support services for the elderly, such as day and rehabilitation care, are largely available only during office hours, but these services need to be extended to accommodate elderly people with family members returning home late or those living alone who might need help at night, local daily Straits Times on Monday quoted Gan as saying. Singapore also needs to have medical care, such as a general practitioner clinic or polyclinic, near apartments for the elderly, he said. These are some of the things that Singapore can include in its development plans, said Gan, who came back from a four-day study trip to Japan earlier this month. He said he set up a Homecare Working Committee comprising professionals in the field and service providers in April this year to draw up a masterplan on how to develop the services needed to help the elderly age in the community. Sngapore is looking to Japan's experience in coping with the needs of an ageing population, and Gan chairs the Ministerial Committee on Ageing. The city state has been trying to promote home-care services so that the elderly can continue living at home. Gan said Singapore is looking to Japan's strategy of providing comprehensive care, building up capacity ahead of need and giving caregivers more support. "We have always taken the position that ageing can be fulfilling to the individual, who can also be an asset to society, " he was quoted as saying.