Elderly care in Singapore | English Essay for kids | Elijah Wee | Singapore

Here is an attempt from my part to put together an essay about "Elderly Care in Singapore". My father actually helped me with the research too ;-)

         Ageing today is a common issue, which affects all families. When the middle-aged becomes a senior citizen, his immune systems are no longer strong enough to protect the body from diseases as before. The elderly are also more susceptible to falling sick. Thus, family support for these elders would be very much needed wherever possible. The family has traditionally been the main source of support for the elderly in Asia. In Singapore, the government has strongly upheld the belief that family support for the elderly is ideal. But is family support enough?

         Firstly, there has been a startling increase in the number of senior citizens over the years as Singaporeans are living longer and families are not replacing themselves by giving birth to enough children. It has also been recognized however that family support might not be enough, so a more holistic eldercare policy that better integrates welfare, medical, housing and social care is needed in the long-term. Another area to consider is that many of the elders, the pioneers of Singapore, have not accumulated enough Medisave by the tie they retire. The Singapore government is looking into ways to tackle this problem. This is a priority area that the government will be looking into during their National Budget reviews.

         In a similar vein, a key focus of the ministerial committee on aging is to expand the scope of intermediate and long-term care in Singapore to facilitate the transition for Elderly care. Also, the committee plans to expand and enhance home-based care to better support caregivers to care for their loved ones within their homes, rather than in an old folks’ home or hospice. This not only reinforces family support and the wellbeing of the elderly but could also help alleviate medical care costs for the elderly.

         The committee also intends to expand and develop a wider network of day care centres within the heartlands so that care can be brought closer to home. They plan to build new centres that are big enough to provide integrated services with healthcare needs. These centres will not only provide a place for the elderly to socialize, but also access services such as nursing, rehabilitative services and dementia management programmes. Seniors living with their children can have peace of mind as they know their parents are being taken care of while they continue to work to provide for their family.

         An example of this is the Bedok Multi Service Centre operated by the Salvation Army. They provide day care services as well as day dementia, day rehabilitative services and nursing care for seniors living in the nearby HDB blocks.

         In a nationwide survey in 2010, seven out of ten of our elderly aged 75 and up said that their children are themselves or largely more ad more hiring foreign domestic workers to take the edge off the stress of care-giving. These domestic workers have to be trained by their agencies on elderly care methods. The employees also play a part to provide these domestic helpers with proper instructions on how to care for the elderly in the family unit.

         The sum it all up, a collective effort across family, family circle, foreign domestic maids and agencies, elderly care institutions and government agencies would be required to help ease the transitions, education and continual care for our elderly population who have worked their hearts out and contributed towards the welfare of the family and the nation.

What are your thoughts on elderly care in Singapore or your country?

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See you soon!

Elijah Wee, Singapore