Ratio of Senior Citizens to Available Day Care and Community-assisted Living Services

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the ratio of senior citizens to available day care and community-assisted living services; (b) how will the Government ensure that sufficient and affordable home care services are available for the senior population to support ageing in the community; (c) what key policy initiatives will be implemented to enhance and expand home care services for seniors; and (d) how will the Government collaborate with relevant stakeholders to meet the increasing demand for home care services.

Since 2015, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has injected around 5,200 more day care places and 5,400 more home care places. As at end 2022, there are 8,700 day care places and 12,300 home care places.

MOH and the Housing and Development Board have also launched over 400 units of Community Care Apartments at Bukit Batok and Queenstown in 2021 and 2022, providing another option for ageing in the community.

We will continue to develop this sector. MOH will expand aged care capacity and enhance home-based care to enable seniors to stay at home for as long as possible.

MOH also plans to collaborate with stakeholders, such as Agency for Integrated Care and community care providers, to provide social and community support, to enable seniors to age in communities. This is part of MOH’s effort to develop three healthcare sub systems – acute care, preventive care and aged care – to support residents as our society ages.