Support for Family Caregivers

Mr David Ong asked the Minister for Health what caregiver support will be extended to families given the push for peritoneal dialysis resulting in the transfer of care for people with multiple chronic diseases to their immediate families and family members.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a dialysis modality that provides more convenience and independence to renal failure patients as it can be self-administered and largely home-based. However, some of the older PD patients and those with multiple complications do rely on assistance from their carers and family to help them on the dialysis treatment, such as connecting to the PD machine, drug regimen, diet and activities of daily living. To better support these patients, Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs), such as National Kidney Foundation (NKF), collaborate with public hospital medical teams to provide close community support to the patients and their caregivers in a few ways.

First, the PD patients and their caregivers are provided with three to five days of training by nurses and physicians in the hospitals before they carry out PD independently. The patients and caregivers are also encouraged to contact the PD nurses on-duty at the PD centres to seek assistance if they encounter any PD-related difficulties.

Second, NKF has a Home Visit Programme in collaboration with the public hospitals, where home visits are conducted by a team of trained and experienced PD nurses from NKF, Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), and other hospitals. These home visits are carried out every three months, or more frequently if required, to provide training and guidance to the patients and their caregivers in the management of the patients and to allow early intervention by PD nurses and physicians if problems occur.

Third, in circumstances when the patient's family members require further social support, the Medical Social Workers (MSWs) from the hospital will provide assistance. In addition, NKF, in collaboration with some public hospitals and external vendors, has organised activities and seminars to provide continuous support and education to the dialysis patients, including PD patients, and their caregivers. One such effort was the seminar, "You Are Not Alone", held in December 2012 and attended by 85 PD patients and caregivers.

MOH, together with the various VWOs, also provides subsidies to ease the financial burden of PD patients and their caregivers. Moving forward, MOH will continue to work closely with the VWOs and public hospitals to further enhance support to PD patients and their caregivers.