<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Nursing homes: A matter of dollars and cents
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->RECENTLY, there has been much discussion over nursing homes in Johor Baru. To cut a long story short, it is all a matter of dollars and cents.
You may love your parents very much but when you are pushed against the wall, you are left with no choice.
Imagine a Singaporean earning $3,000 a month. If he puts his parent in a nursing home in Singapore, he must pay $1,000 a month, which leaves him with $2,000 to manage his family. On the other hand, if he puts his parent in a nursing home in JB, he pays $500, leaving him with $2,500 to run his family.
He is left with no choice but to put his parent in a JB nursing home.
Those of us in such a situation know the answer. The trouble with those at the top is that they are concerned with the profit margin.
Take the case of the tourist who jumped into the Singapore River to save a woman from drowning. He risked his life to save her. But the Singapore General Hospital charged him $90 to treat his injuries. When Singaporeans read about this, they raised a hue and cry.
Similarly, why do Singaporeans go to JB for medical treatment? Why do they shop in JB? Why do they fill their petrol tanks there? Again, it is a matter of dollars and cents.
If policymakers really care, they should ensure that nursing homes run by the Government are affordable to the average Singaporean.
As Asians, we prefer to die surrounded by our loved ones. But when it becomes expensive, Singaporeans have no choice but to house their parents in JB.
We have an ageing population, and more people will be housed in nursing homes. In a family in which the husband and wife both work, there is no one to look after ageing parents.
In the old days, when the father was the sole breadwinner, the mother looked after the ageing parents. Today, we are paying a high price for modernisation. The maid looks after the children and if she has to look after the grandparents as well, it becomes too much for her.
I hope the Government will set up a committee to look into establishing affordable nursing homes in Singapore so that we can die here surrounded by our loved ones. Jasbir Singh
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->RECENTLY, there has been much discussion over nursing homes in Johor Baru. To cut a long story short, it is all a matter of dollars and cents.
You may love your parents very much but when you are pushed against the wall, you are left with no choice.
Imagine a Singaporean earning $3,000 a month. If he puts his parent in a nursing home in Singapore, he must pay $1,000 a month, which leaves him with $2,000 to manage his family. On the other hand, if he puts his parent in a nursing home in JB, he pays $500, leaving him with $2,500 to run his family.
He is left with no choice but to put his parent in a JB nursing home.
Those of us in such a situation know the answer. The trouble with those at the top is that they are concerned with the profit margin.
Take the case of the tourist who jumped into the Singapore River to save a woman from drowning. He risked his life to save her. But the Singapore General Hospital charged him $90 to treat his injuries. When Singaporeans read about this, they raised a hue and cry.
Similarly, why do Singaporeans go to JB for medical treatment? Why do they shop in JB? Why do they fill their petrol tanks there? Again, it is a matter of dollars and cents.
If policymakers really care, they should ensure that nursing homes run by the Government are affordable to the average Singaporean.
As Asians, we prefer to die surrounded by our loved ones. But when it becomes expensive, Singaporeans have no choice but to house their parents in JB.
We have an ageing population, and more people will be housed in nursing homes. In a family in which the husband and wife both work, there is no one to look after ageing parents.
In the old days, when the father was the sole breadwinner, the mother looked after the ageing parents. Today, we are paying a high price for modernisation. The maid looks after the children and if she has to look after the grandparents as well, it becomes too much for her.
I hope the Government will set up a committee to look into establishing affordable nursing homes in Singapore so that we can die here surrounded by our loved ones. Jasbir Singh
