With laws to protect the growing elderly population in the country, it’s important that the government also look at the benefits provided to their caregivers because this will ultimately spell out the quality of care to this population in the long run.
With this in mind, the Singaporean government is now exploring ways to provide support to health care workers who will take on the role of caring for the growing ageing population of the country.
Gov’t Provides Financial Aid to Caregivers of Elderly
The government is looking to improve the support it offers to caregivers of elders by extending financial assistance and improving the respite care according to Senior Minister of State for Health Edwin Tong, as shared in a report by Channel News Asia.
The said initiative is part of the Ministry of Health’s review of support for caregivers of the elderly which aims to identify opportunities to boost care services within the community, enhance caregiver support, and methods to empower caregivers.
The said review was first discussed in September of last year and the details are said to be made available in a few weeks’ time.
During the review discussion of Minister Tong with the Caregivers Alliance Limited, a non-profit organisation, there were four recurrent themes that came up from the discussion:
- helping new caregivers navigate the resources available to them;
- increasing the number of assistance schemes for caregivers who opt for home care;
- making respite options more flexible for caregivers; and
- providing working caregivers flexibility in their work arrangements so that they can fulfil their caregiving responsibilities.
The goal, according to Minister Tong is to have the seniors be part of the community for as long as they can and be cared for by people they know and love them.
However, as identified, one of the main problems faced by caregivers pertains to their finances. To address this issue, the minister is looking if assistance for expenses or defraying some of the costs that they will incur by providing grants can help.
As per the Ministry of Health, by 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be above the age of 65 years old. Therefore, caregivers will play a significant role in an ageing Singaporean population.
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