Plan to Address Psychosocial and Mental Health Needs of Caregivers

Ms Anthea Ong asked the Minister for Health (a) whether there is an impending national caregiving plan to address the complex challenges in this area; (b) whether the Action Plan for Successful Ageing, Enabling Masterplan and Community Mental Health Masterplan address the psychosocial and mental health needs of caregivers and, if so, how; and (c) what is the current percentage of healthcare spending on caregiving.

Caregiving needs will grow as our population ages, with one in four Singaporeans aged 65 and above by 2030. Guided by the Action Plan for Successful Ageing, the Ministry of Health's (MOH's) approach towards supporting caregivers, includes expanding and deepening the range of care options available for their loved ones, so that caregivers can have peace of mind.

To this end, we have added 2,600 day places and 2,300 home care places since 2015. We have also made respite care at nursing homes and eldercare centres more accessible so that caregivers can have a reprieve in caregiving. Overall, around $800 million was spent in 2016 on the long-term care sector, which could help to meet these caregiving needs and to ensure that quality care is affordable and accessible.

Besides these efforts, other programmes are in place to support the psychosocial and mental health needs of caregivers. For example, community outreach and community intervention teams are available to provide caregivers with emotional support, psychosocial education and counselling, equipping them with more insights about their loved one's conditions and how they can be better supported. Caregiver support networks are also a valuable source of peer support and mutual help.

In addition, support for caregivers of persons with disabilities has also been enhanced under the Third Enabling Masterplan. For example, SG Enable recently set up a "Caregiver Pod" at the Enabling Village to facilitate peer support group activities and training, and to make it convenient for caregivers to access information, referrals to disability services and support.

We have also seen ground-up initiatives, such as the Caregiving@Southwest programme recently launched by the Southwest Community Development Council in December 2018. The effort seeks to build community-wide awareness and recognition of caregivers and their caregiving needs and brings together community partners to show collective support for caregivers. We want to encourage more of such ground-up local efforts, as part of a whole-of-society effort to support our caregivers.

However, we recognise that more can be done. A review is presently being undertaken to look into strengthening support for senior caregiving. As part of the review, MOH has been engaging caregivers and other stakeholders to gather feedback and discuss ideas since September last year. Areas under review include improving care navigation in the community, enhancing caregiver support in areas, such as respite services, and working with community partners to offer more socio-emotional support to caregivers. MOH and partner agencies are developing specific recommendations in these areas, and more details will be provided in due course.