Debated in Parliament on 1 Aug 2022.
Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the pilot WHEELS programme that provides wheelchair servicing at selected Senior Activity Centres (SAC) is still ongoing; and (b) if so, whether it is being progressively rolled out to all SACs nationwide.
The WHEELS programme was a three-year pilot to train seniors to provide free wheelchair servicing and basic repairs at 13 Senior Activity Centres and Senior Care Centres. Unfortunately, many participating centres could not find enough volunteers to deploy the service or meet demand. The pilot ended in March 2020.
The Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF) was enhanced in February 2022 to provide seniors with subsidies for replacements when their current devices, including wheelchairs, reach the end of its lifespan. SMF can also cover repairs, if they are cost-effective, on a case-by-case basis.
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