All-in-one home care service for the elderly

One caregiver for each senior; people who need extra care can also utilise service

By Janice Tai, The Straits Times, 15 Mar 2012

MOST elderly people who need help now receive it from a whole host of different care workers, who do everything from housekeeping to nursing.

It was enough to make Minister of State for Community Development, Youth and Sports Halimah Yacob remark in Parliament last week that the elderly can feel like 'a service item on a work schedule'.

All that is about to change with the introduction of a scheme in which all these services are provided by just one person.

Thye Hua Kwan (THK) Moral Charities and NTUC Eldercare piloted the service in 2010, and will now expand the programme called Ensuite Social Home-based Care.

The all-in-one service includes basic nursing care like medicine management and health monitoring, on top of personal hygiene, housekeeping and therapy activities.

This means that those who do not need intensive medical and nursing services can opt for this arrangement, instead of turning to nursing homes or home-based nursing services.

This not only allows the elderly to age in a familiar environment in the community, but also makes home care more affordable. Home nursing fees can cost $80 or more per hour, excluding subsidies given after means-testing.

The fees for the ensuite programme are still being finalised by the service providers, but users will also qualify for means-tested subsidies.

The Government is committing an estimated $80 million to this service for the next five years.

It is expected to benefit up to 4,000 elderly folk - more than twice the number of users of home-based care today - by 2016.

The expansion of the scheme comes after the successful run of two pilot programmes by THK Moral Charities and NTUC Eldercare.

Both pilots were funded by the Centre for Enabled Living, a Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports agency that coordinates social care for people who need it.

About 85 per cent of the 300 clients from THK who are on the scheme said they were satisfied with the service, while all 230 participants from NTUC Eldercare gave it the thumbs-up.

'I like having someone familiar with my needs, health condition and temperament caring for me. For example, with a single care worker, there is no need for me to repeatedly explain where the pain is,' said an 85-year-old who wanted to be known only as Madam Ong. She is bed-bound and needs basic nursing care.

Besides the elderly, those who need extra care can also utilise the service.

A 51-year-old, who wanted to be known only as Mr Tan, is visited by a care worker at his Teban Gardens flat for five hours every day.

Mr Tan has schizophrenia and difficulty walking. The care worker not only provides basic nursing care and does housekeeping chores, but also cooks for the family and accompanies his mother on grocery trips.

Potong Pasir MP Sitoh Yih Pin, who spoke on the importance of having a holistic care approach for the elderly in Parliament last week, said the programme is a step in the right direction.

'To the old, familiarity and trust are very important. Having only one worker tending to them is good as they don't like to venture into new ground,' he added.





Help aplenty within a single home visit

LIKE many of her counterparts trained to provide multiple services to the elderly within a single home visit, Ms Araceli M.B. is prepared for any request.

Since October last year, the 35-year-old Filipina has served some 30 seniors whose needs range from having someone accompany them for medical check-ups, to taking them on in Scrabble to stimulate their minds, to ensuring they take their medicine and have help with the laundry or cooking.

Registered as a trained nurse in the Philippines, she also has four years of experience working in hospitals and nursing homes. She can speak and understand simple Malay and Hokkien.

Before starting work as an Ensuite social home-care worker, she attended an ITE Home Care course which covered basic nursing and health-care skills.

She also received on-the-job training where a nurse supervised her during home visits for three months.

'Caring for the elderly in this manner is more satisfying as it provides holistic care in their home environment,' she said.