Effectiveness of Shared Stay-in Senior Care Services Sandbox and Other Enhanced Caregiving Support Measures

Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health regarding the Shared Stay-in Senior Care Services sandbox (a) what are the target objectives used to assess its effectiveness; (b) how effective has the caregiving model been in supporting seniors who live alone and require assisted living; and (c) what other enhanced support will be given to participating service providers.

The Shared Stay-in Senior Caregiving Services sandbox was launched in 2023 to test more ways to allow seniors to age within the community and provide alternative caregiving option for families. Thus far, providers, clients and their next-of-kin have shared positive feedback about the effectiveness of the Shared Stay-in Senior Caregiving Services sandbox in these regards. This service can support seniors living alone, as long as they have the cognitive ability to manage their caregiving decisions or have a next-of-kin to make caregiving decisions on the seniors' behalf.

Given the positive response, we will mainstream this service by end-2025 and extend work pass flexibilities, such as additional foreign worker quota and source relaxations, to new operators who intend to deliver this service. We will share more information with interested providers and clients before end-2025.