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Serious Many Pappys don't like OngYK..not Team player.
- Thread starter SalahParking
- Start date
OYK makes 2 key announcements. 
Today Ministry of Health, Singapore made two key announcements which will take effect from 12 December 2022:
We will roll out the bivalent Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine for persons aged 12 years and above.
Those who are eligible will progressively receive an SMS to make an appointment. If you already have an appointment for the monovalent version, you may choose to reschedule to a date on or after 12 December to receive the updated bivalent version.
To reach out to our seniors, we will again deploy mobile vaccination teams to the heartlands. Click the Mobile Vaccination icon on https://gowhere.gov.sg for the deployment schedule.
Do note that the bivalent Moderna/Spikevax vaccine continues to be available for persons aged 18 years and above. According to the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination, both the Moderna and Pfizer bivalent vaccines enhance protection against Omicron variants. So take the one that is available to you.
Photo credit: Pfizer
Ong Ye Kung
5 h ·Today Ministry of Health, Singapore made two key announcements which will take effect from 12 December 2022:
Those who are eligible will progressively receive an SMS to make an appointment. If you already have an appointment for the monovalent version, you may choose to reschedule to a date on or after 12 December to receive the updated bivalent version.
Do note that the bivalent Moderna/Spikevax vaccine continues to be available for persons aged 18 years and above. According to the Expert Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination, both the Moderna and Pfizer bivalent vaccines enhance protection against Omicron variants. So take the one that is available to you.
Photo credit: Pfizer
from straitstimes.com:
Under Healthier SG, GPs will get an annual service fee for each enrolled patient. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Osmond Chia
UPDATED
3 DEC 2022, 10:05 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE – Half of the general practitioner (GP) clinic population here have joined the primary care network (PCN), a national programme that allows doctors to share resources and operate in teams, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday.
The number of registrations climbed from 500 to 800 clinics this past year amid the Government’s push to reform healthcare to focus more on preventive care, he added.
This vision is part of the Healthier SG strategy, which aims to get patients to stick to one doctor who will develop a personalised plan to address any medical concerns and set health goals.
Healthier SG, which will be rolled out in 2023, aims to bring family clinics on board, as they can build a stronger relationship with residents. To be part of the campaign, clinics must first sign up for the PCN scheme, which provides funding and administrative support to GPs to support the long-term chronic needs of patients.
Under Healthier SG, GPs will get an annual service fee for each enrolled patient.
As part of this effort, participating clinics in Sembawang will encourage patients to attend healthy lifestyle activities, based on a growing list of neighbourhood programmes curated by the constituency that currently total 100.
Speaking to the media at the Sembawang GRC Health Fiesta on Saturday, Mr Ong said the initiative is a way to encourage more residents to keep fit by participating in community activities – like group walks, taiji and dance programmes.
Physical activities are a key focus of Healthier SG, which will roll out more of such programmes by the likes of the People’s Association and Sport Singapore.
To compile the list of neighbourhood programmes, Mr Ong said his team worked with the 100 organisers to fix a time and place to hold each activity.
Clinics and care providers will recommend these programmes to patients, encouraging them to incorporate physical activities into their routine, he added.
Volunteers and partners will visit seniors living alone in the constituency to encourage them to join such activities, which generally do not require booking or payment, said Mr Ong.
The initiative is one way residents can learn about community programmes here. Another way is the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy 365 app, which has a catalogue of community events that those interested can refer to.
Health Fiesta participant Richard Goh, 64, refers to the Healthy 365 app daily to seek out zumba classes, a daily routine for him to keep fit.
“I’ve been running and playing sports for a long time, but these days, I do zumba. Keeping fit has helped me a lot, as I rarely get sick,” said the part-time driver.
Another participant, Madam Zainab Rahim, came to the Health Fiesta to receive free check-ups at a range of health-screening booths.
The 75-year-old writer said community activities like these can rope in even those who do not exercise frequently.
“Events like these promote something positive for us, like looking after our own health,” she said. “There’s a good atmosphere, and it gets us to do things together.”
Madam Sabaria Sabthoo, 65, regularly joins community fitness events and brisk walks at least 15km each week to keep fit.
The former technician, who has six grandchildren between the ages of three and 15, said: “Since I’m not working now, I need to stay healthy, especially since I need to look after my grandchildren.”
Half of GP clinics have joined Healthier SG’s primary care network: Ong Ye Kung
Under Healthier SG, GPs will get an annual service fee for each enrolled patient. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Osmond Chia
UPDATED
3 DEC 2022, 10:05 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE – Half of the general practitioner (GP) clinic population here have joined the primary care network (PCN), a national programme that allows doctors to share resources and operate in teams, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday.
The number of registrations climbed from 500 to 800 clinics this past year amid the Government’s push to reform healthcare to focus more on preventive care, he added.
This vision is part of the Healthier SG strategy, which aims to get patients to stick to one doctor who will develop a personalised plan to address any medical concerns and set health goals.
Healthier SG, which will be rolled out in 2023, aims to bring family clinics on board, as they can build a stronger relationship with residents. To be part of the campaign, clinics must first sign up for the PCN scheme, which provides funding and administrative support to GPs to support the long-term chronic needs of patients.
Under Healthier SG, GPs will get an annual service fee for each enrolled patient.
As part of this effort, participating clinics in Sembawang will encourage patients to attend healthy lifestyle activities, based on a growing list of neighbourhood programmes curated by the constituency that currently total 100.
Speaking to the media at the Sembawang GRC Health Fiesta on Saturday, Mr Ong said the initiative is a way to encourage more residents to keep fit by participating in community activities – like group walks, taiji and dance programmes.
Physical activities are a key focus of Healthier SG, which will roll out more of such programmes by the likes of the People’s Association and Sport Singapore.
To compile the list of neighbourhood programmes, Mr Ong said his team worked with the 100 organisers to fix a time and place to hold each activity.
Clinics and care providers will recommend these programmes to patients, encouraging them to incorporate physical activities into their routine, he added.
Volunteers and partners will visit seniors living alone in the constituency to encourage them to join such activities, which generally do not require booking or payment, said Mr Ong.
The initiative is one way residents can learn about community programmes here. Another way is the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy 365 app, which has a catalogue of community events that those interested can refer to.
Health Fiesta participant Richard Goh, 64, refers to the Healthy 365 app daily to seek out zumba classes, a daily routine for him to keep fit.
“I’ve been running and playing sports for a long time, but these days, I do zumba. Keeping fit has helped me a lot, as I rarely get sick,” said the part-time driver.
Another participant, Madam Zainab Rahim, came to the Health Fiesta to receive free check-ups at a range of health-screening booths.
The 75-year-old writer said community activities like these can rope in even those who do not exercise frequently.
“Events like these promote something positive for us, like looking after our own health,” she said. “There’s a good atmosphere, and it gets us to do things together.”
Madam Sabaria Sabthoo, 65, regularly joins community fitness events and brisk walks at least 15km each week to keep fit.
The former technician, who has six grandchildren between the ages of three and 15, said: “Since I’m not working now, I need to stay healthy, especially since I need to look after my grandchildren.”
OYK wants to see you at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre. 
From next Saturday (17 Dec), the long awaited Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre will open to residents of Sembawang!
Open 7am – 11pm daily, with 44 stalls, 800+ seats, it will feature all popular local hawker dishes, plus other interesting food options such as mookata, Hainan & Harbin cuisine, Mexican-Indian fusion food, BBQ Melaka Seafood.
It will also feature healthier eating options, eco-friendly waste grinder system, “Belanja A Meal” – a program for diners to buy a meal for less fortunate residents, and daily discounts for CHAS, Pioneer and Merdeka Generation card members.
See you there!
#MakeSembawangSpecial #OKwithOYK
Ong Ye Kung
8 h ·From next Saturday (17 Dec), the long awaited Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre will open to residents of Sembawang!
Open 7am – 11pm daily, with 44 stalls, 800+ seats, it will feature all popular local hawker dishes, plus other interesting food options such as mookata, Hainan & Harbin cuisine, Mexican-Indian fusion food, BBQ Melaka Seafood.
It will also feature healthier eating options, eco-friendly waste grinder system, “Belanja A Meal” – a program for diners to buy a meal for less fortunate residents, and daily discounts for CHAS, Pioneer and Merdeka Generation card members.
See you there!
#MakeSembawangSpecial #OKwithOYK
from straitstimes.com:
Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung speaking at a sharing session with Active Ageing Centre providers, at the College of Medicine Building on Monday. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Cheryl Tan and Gena Soh
PUBLISHED
5 DEC 2022, 1:35 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE - Active ageing centres (AACs) need to be transformed from their current state and become a “magnet” for seniors, to get them out of their homes and help them stay healthy and socially connected, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday.
These centres serve seniors in the community by providing them with recreational activities, social support and basic information, as well as referral to care services.
Speaking at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters, Mr Ong noted that most seniors prefer living in the community, either independently or with some help, rather than in a nursing home.
He added that their “biggest enemy” is social isolation, so the Government is reviewing its strategy to help them socialise more and engage in more physical activities that can help delay – or even prevent – frailty and deterioration.
One main method to accomplish this would be to expand the network of active ageing centres around Singapore, so that senior support is “more ubiquitous”, said Mr Ong.
There are 119 such centres in the Republic, with plans to increase this number to 220 islandwide by 2025.
To be better aligned with the Healthier SG initiative – which will see the healthcare system focusing more on preventive care – the centres will expand their services from April 2023, according to the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).
For one thing, they will provide assistance to seniors and help them to stick with the social and lifestyle interventions included in their individual health plans as devised by their family doctors.
For example, equipment for monitoring vital signs, which allows seniors to check their heart rate and oxygen levels, will be available at these centres.
Seniors will thus be able to record their vital signs as prescribed by their family doctor, said the AIC.
The Straits Times understands that service providers for active ageing centres can tap a fund to help them expand their range of services. This will come from the $1 billion set aside for Healthier SG.
Mr Ong said that one of the best ways to entice seniors to visit these centres would be to provide them with nutritious meals.
“(Once seniors visit the centre), you can then do a lot of things – you can work with the healthcare clusters, you can do health checks… you can conduct physical exercises, activities and so forth,” said Mr Ong.
He was giving an overview of the “Care” pillar for the Forward Singapore exercise – which is a series of conversations centred on enhancing the nation’s social compact.
The Healthier SG programme will be launched in six months, he added.
For seniors with more complex care needs, home-based care will need to be enhanced and tailored according to individual needs.
This can be delivered at an active ageing centre close to the senior’s home, and this would help to relieve the burden on caregivers, said Mr Ong.
Income inequality is another issue the Forward Singapore exercise is seeking to tackle, he said.
To help low-income households, governments must invest in universally accessible, high-quality public services such as healthcare, education and public housing, he added.
Therefore, by building up Healthier SG – the preventive care model as a universal public service – it is most likely to be the middle- to lower-income groups that will benefit the most, Mr Ong noted.
He added that the Government was looking at better integrating services for low-income families.
One example would be through the Community Link programme, where vulnerable families can access a suite of interventions, depending on their needs, through a single befriender.
However, this concept of integration can be expanded further.
“Beyond packaging different interventions and services, we can combine society’s duty to assist the vulnerable family with the family’s exercise of personal responsibility,” said Mr Ong.
He gave as an example the Brazilian welfare programme – known as Bolsa Familia under the previous Lula government – which allowed poor families to receive financial aid, provided they sent their children to school and got them vaccinated.
“It is a partnership between society and vulnerable families centring around self-reliance. It is a powerful idea.
“If it proliferates, it can potentially snowball into a strong social compact, of society at large and the more fortunate helping the less fortunate, and the less fortunate helping themselves,” said Mr Ong.
Ms Aw Lay Hoon, deputy director of Fei Yue Community Services, said that with active ageing centres now acting as touch points for seniors from all socio-economic strata, she looks forward to the additional support from the Government.
“There are many challenges associated with the mixing of people across different social classes… For instance, groups across classes might have very different interests and might not even speak the same language,” she said.
“As a result, there is a need for resources to upskill our volunteers and staff in order to learn how to socialise across groups and bring these groups together.”
While Fei Yue Community Services offers engaging recreational programmes such as flower arrangement or ukulele classes that aim to “neutralise this distance through shared activities”, Ms Aw said that these classes are already oversubscribed.
She said: “I had a member complain to me that the moment the classes are made available, they are already fully booked… Hopefully we will have more space to keep up with the increasing demand.”
Even with the additional support from the Government, Dr Christina Tiong, chief executive of Home Nursing Foundation, said that more collaboration with the community and other service providers will be needed to transform active ageing centres into reliable providers of senior care.
For instance, Dr Tiong said, the Home Nursing Foundation provides home care services to Fei Yue’s beneficiaries, while Fei Yue provides counselling services to their foundation’s beneficiaries.
However, stable volunteerism remains an issue, with the centre having only about 30 to 50 volunteers for the 2,000 seniors under their care, despite the ideal number being around 200.
Dr Tiong said: “The problem of talent acquisition plagues even commercial fields… Volunteers want to be part of a programme where it feels meaningful to give back, and we need to ensure that our programmes are structured in a way that gives them just that.”
Rethink active ageing centres to engage more seniors, tackle social isolation: Ong Ye Kung
Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung speaking at a sharing session with Active Ageing Centre providers, at the College of Medicine Building on Monday. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Cheryl Tan and Gena Soh
PUBLISHED
5 DEC 2022, 1:35 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE - Active ageing centres (AACs) need to be transformed from their current state and become a “magnet” for seniors, to get them out of their homes and help them stay healthy and socially connected, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday.
These centres serve seniors in the community by providing them with recreational activities, social support and basic information, as well as referral to care services.
Speaking at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters, Mr Ong noted that most seniors prefer living in the community, either independently or with some help, rather than in a nursing home.
He added that their “biggest enemy” is social isolation, so the Government is reviewing its strategy to help them socialise more and engage in more physical activities that can help delay – or even prevent – frailty and deterioration.
One main method to accomplish this would be to expand the network of active ageing centres around Singapore, so that senior support is “more ubiquitous”, said Mr Ong.
There are 119 such centres in the Republic, with plans to increase this number to 220 islandwide by 2025.
To be better aligned with the Healthier SG initiative – which will see the healthcare system focusing more on preventive care – the centres will expand their services from April 2023, according to the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).
For one thing, they will provide assistance to seniors and help them to stick with the social and lifestyle interventions included in their individual health plans as devised by their family doctors.
For example, equipment for monitoring vital signs, which allows seniors to check their heart rate and oxygen levels, will be available at these centres.
Seniors will thus be able to record their vital signs as prescribed by their family doctor, said the AIC.
The Straits Times understands that service providers for active ageing centres can tap a fund to help them expand their range of services. This will come from the $1 billion set aside for Healthier SG.
Mr Ong said that one of the best ways to entice seniors to visit these centres would be to provide them with nutritious meals.
“(Once seniors visit the centre), you can then do a lot of things – you can work with the healthcare clusters, you can do health checks… you can conduct physical exercises, activities and so forth,” said Mr Ong.
He was giving an overview of the “Care” pillar for the Forward Singapore exercise – which is a series of conversations centred on enhancing the nation’s social compact.
The Healthier SG programme will be launched in six months, he added.
For seniors with more complex care needs, home-based care will need to be enhanced and tailored according to individual needs.
This can be delivered at an active ageing centre close to the senior’s home, and this would help to relieve the burden on caregivers, said Mr Ong.
Income inequality is another issue the Forward Singapore exercise is seeking to tackle, he said.
To help low-income households, governments must invest in universally accessible, high-quality public services such as healthcare, education and public housing, he added.
Therefore, by building up Healthier SG – the preventive care model as a universal public service – it is most likely to be the middle- to lower-income groups that will benefit the most, Mr Ong noted.
He added that the Government was looking at better integrating services for low-income families.
One example would be through the Community Link programme, where vulnerable families can access a suite of interventions, depending on their needs, through a single befriender.
However, this concept of integration can be expanded further.
“Beyond packaging different interventions and services, we can combine society’s duty to assist the vulnerable family with the family’s exercise of personal responsibility,” said Mr Ong.
He gave as an example the Brazilian welfare programme – known as Bolsa Familia under the previous Lula government – which allowed poor families to receive financial aid, provided they sent their children to school and got them vaccinated.
“It is a partnership between society and vulnerable families centring around self-reliance. It is a powerful idea.
“If it proliferates, it can potentially snowball into a strong social compact, of society at large and the more fortunate helping the less fortunate, and the less fortunate helping themselves,” said Mr Ong.
Ms Aw Lay Hoon, deputy director of Fei Yue Community Services, said that with active ageing centres now acting as touch points for seniors from all socio-economic strata, she looks forward to the additional support from the Government.
“There are many challenges associated with the mixing of people across different social classes… For instance, groups across classes might have very different interests and might not even speak the same language,” she said.
“As a result, there is a need for resources to upskill our volunteers and staff in order to learn how to socialise across groups and bring these groups together.”
While Fei Yue Community Services offers engaging recreational programmes such as flower arrangement or ukulele classes that aim to “neutralise this distance through shared activities”, Ms Aw said that these classes are already oversubscribed.
She said: “I had a member complain to me that the moment the classes are made available, they are already fully booked… Hopefully we will have more space to keep up with the increasing demand.”
Even with the additional support from the Government, Dr Christina Tiong, chief executive of Home Nursing Foundation, said that more collaboration with the community and other service providers will be needed to transform active ageing centres into reliable providers of senior care.
For instance, Dr Tiong said, the Home Nursing Foundation provides home care services to Fei Yue’s beneficiaries, while Fei Yue provides counselling services to their foundation’s beneficiaries.
However, stable volunteerism remains an issue, with the centre having only about 30 to 50 volunteers for the 2,000 seniors under their care, despite the ideal number being around 200.
Dr Tiong said: “The problem of talent acquisition plagues even commercial fields… Volunteers want to be part of a programme where it feels meaningful to give back, and we need to ensure that our programmes are structured in a way that gives them just that.”
Very good reminder to take big steps!
What do you want to be is only possible if you have money and good support and have no evil doers harming you.OYK wonders what he will be when he grows up.
Ong Ye Kung
8 h ·
"What do I want to be when I grow up?"
Over the years, this question has guided me as I pondered my next steps in life. I shared this with graduands of NUS High School's Class of 2022.
Ya like these rare diseases people no money no need to ask what do you want to be.from straitstimes.com:
Support for treatment of rare illnesses, regardless of cost, must be carefully reviewed: Ong Ye Kung
The authorities will work towards expanding the scope of treatments that can be supported by the Rare Disease Fund, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Zhaki Abdullah
UPDATED
14 NOV 2022, 9:13 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE – Whether the Government should support medical treatments for rare diseases, regardless of cost, must be “carefully reviewed”, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung.
This is especially if the efficacy of such treatments is uncertain, he added in a written reply to a parliamentary question by Mr Leon Perera (Aljunied GRC) on Nov 8.
The Workers’ Party MP had asked a number of questions regarding the Rare Disease Fund (RDF) – which provides long-term financial support to those who need high-cost medication for rare conditions – including how many applications the fund has received since April 2021 and its ratio of applicants to grants.
Mr Perera also asked whether the fund has enough money to support new applicants.
In his response, Mr Ong noted that the RDF – which currently supports seven medications for five conditions, including primary bile acid synthesis disorder and Pompe disease – has received applications from six patients since April 2021, all of whom are currently supported by the fund.
“There are sufficient funds to support these patients,” he said, without stating a figure.
Then Senior Minister of State for Health Koh Poh Koon said in August 2021 that $1.5 million was expected to be given out through the fund that year, 50 per cent more than in the previous financial year for the same number of patients.
Mr Ong acknowledged on Tuesday that there are patients with rare diseases who require medications that are not currently supported by the RDF.
“Medicines for rare disease patients can exceed $200,000 per patient annually, with varying efficacies, and our healthcare financing system is not designed to support such high-cost treatments,” he said.
The fund acts as a form of collective support for Singaporeans, with the Government providing $3 for every dollar donated by the public, Mr Ong added.
It is also heartening that some have been able to obtain financial support from the community through crowdfunding or other charitable funds, he noted.
The authorities will continue to monitor the situation and work towards expanding the scope of treatments that can be supported by the fund, Mr Ong said.
“We also encourage members of the public to support the RDF with donations so that more medicines and conditions can be listed, and more patients can be supported,” he added.
An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 people here have rare diseases.
Ya what I want to be is all rubbish talk when you don’t even have a stable roof over your head due to persecution by evil doers.
And can you say you want to grow up to be a doctor when you have no money to study medicine?
But even then only cheap people will think of sell nude sell cb to get what they want to be.
Non cheap people will just compromise with cheaper available options. Can’t study medicine then study accounting. Can’t stay in good condo then stay in crappy apartment.
If you have an easy life with good support then the least you can do is to close your Ccb mouth insulting such people that made it good by themselves. Unfortunately many evil doers think they are entitled to insult people that made it good as whore just because they themselves did nothing and got good support good life with plenty of options. Pui!
Where is my neighbourhood ? Where is my community? You can’t even enjoy life and have a fixed doctor in your own neighbourhood when you are persecuted by Malaysian evil doers and that’s a fact.from straitstimes.com:
Half of GP clinics have joined Healthier SG’s primary care network: Ong Ye Kung
Under Healthier SG, GPs will get an annual service fee for each enrolled patient. ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Osmond Chia
UPDATED
3 DEC 2022, 10:05 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE – Half of the general practitioner (GP) clinic population here have joined the primary care network (PCN), a national programme that allows doctors to share resources and operate in teams, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday.
The number of registrations climbed from 500 to 800 clinics this past year amid the Government’s push to reform healthcare to focus more on preventive care, he added.
This vision is part of the Healthier SG strategy, which aims to get patients to stick to one doctor who will develop a personalised plan to address any medical concerns and set health goals.
Healthier SG, which will be rolled out in 2023, aims to bring family clinics on board, as they can build a stronger relationship with residents. To be part of the campaign, clinics must first sign up for the PCN scheme, which provides funding and administrative support to GPs to support the long-term chronic needs of patients.
Under Healthier SG, GPs will get an annual service fee for each enrolled patient.
As part of this effort, participating clinics in Sembawang will encourage patients to attend healthy lifestyle activities, based on a growing list of neighbourhood programmes curated by the constituency that currently total 100.
Speaking to the media at the Sembawang GRC Health Fiesta on Saturday, Mr Ong said the initiative is a way to encourage more residents to keep fit by participating in community activities – like group walks, taiji and dance programmes.
Physical activities are a key focus of Healthier SG, which will roll out more of such programmes by the likes of the People’s Association and Sport Singapore.
To compile the list of neighbourhood programmes, Mr Ong said his team worked with the 100 organisers to fix a time and place to hold each activity.
Clinics and care providers will recommend these programmes to patients, encouraging them to incorporate physical activities into their routine, he added.
Volunteers and partners will visit seniors living alone in the constituency to encourage them to join such activities, which generally do not require booking or payment, said Mr Ong.
The initiative is one way residents can learn about community programmes here. Another way is the Health Promotion Board’s Healthy 365 app, which has a catalogue of community events that those interested can refer to.
Health Fiesta participant Richard Goh, 64, refers to the Healthy 365 app daily to seek out zumba classes, a daily routine for him to keep fit.
“I’ve been running and playing sports for a long time, but these days, I do zumba. Keeping fit has helped me a lot, as I rarely get sick,” said the part-time driver.
Another participant, Madam Zainab Rahim, came to the Health Fiesta to receive free check-ups at a range of health-screening booths.
The 75-year-old writer said community activities like these can rope in even those who do not exercise frequently.
“Events like these promote something positive for us, like looking after our own health,” she said. “There’s a good atmosphere, and it gets us to do things together.”
Madam Sabaria Sabthoo, 65, regularly joins community fitness events and brisk walks at least 15km each week to keep fit.
The former technician, who has six grandchildren between the ages of three and 15, said: “Since I’m not working now, I need to stay healthy, especially since I need to look after my grandchildren.”
Did all those Chinese old men that whistled at me attend these active ageing activities? Looks like such good activities are a waste on them.from straitstimes.com:
Rethink active ageing centres to engage more seniors, tackle social isolation: Ong Ye Kung
Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung speaking at a sharing session with Active Ageing Centre providers, at the College of Medicine Building on Monday. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Cheryl Tan and Gena Soh
PUBLISHED
5 DEC 2022, 1:35 PM SGT
FacebookTwitter
SINGAPORE - Active ageing centres (AACs) need to be transformed from their current state and become a “magnet” for seniors, to get them out of their homes and help them stay healthy and socially connected, said Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Monday.
These centres serve seniors in the community by providing them with recreational activities, social support and basic information, as well as referral to care services.
Speaking at the Ministry of Health’s headquarters, Mr Ong noted that most seniors prefer living in the community, either independently or with some help, rather than in a nursing home.
He added that their “biggest enemy” is social isolation, so the Government is reviewing its strategy to help them socialise more and engage in more physical activities that can help delay – or even prevent – frailty and deterioration.
One main method to accomplish this would be to expand the network of active ageing centres around Singapore, so that senior support is “more ubiquitous”, said Mr Ong.
There are 119 such centres in the Republic, with plans to increase this number to 220 islandwide by 2025.
To be better aligned with the Healthier SG initiative – which will see the healthcare system focusing more on preventive care – the centres will expand their services from April 2023, according to the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).
For one thing, they will provide assistance to seniors and help them to stick with the social and lifestyle interventions included in their individual health plans as devised by their family doctors.
For example, equipment for monitoring vital signs, which allows seniors to check their heart rate and oxygen levels, will be available at these centres.
Seniors will thus be able to record their vital signs as prescribed by their family doctor, said the AIC.
The Straits Times understands that service providers for active ageing centres can tap a fund to help them expand their range of services. This will come from the $1 billion set aside for Healthier SG.
Mr Ong said that one of the best ways to entice seniors to visit these centres would be to provide them with nutritious meals.
“(Once seniors visit the centre), you can then do a lot of things – you can work with the healthcare clusters, you can do health checks… you can conduct physical exercises, activities and so forth,” said Mr Ong.
He was giving an overview of the “Care” pillar for the Forward Singapore exercise – which is a series of conversations centred on enhancing the nation’s social compact.
The Healthier SG programme will be launched in six months, he added.
For seniors with more complex care needs, home-based care will need to be enhanced and tailored according to individual needs.
This can be delivered at an active ageing centre close to the senior’s home, and this would help to relieve the burden on caregivers, said Mr Ong.
Income inequality is another issue the Forward Singapore exercise is seeking to tackle, he said.
To help low-income households, governments must invest in universally accessible, high-quality public services such as healthcare, education and public housing, he added.
Therefore, by building up Healthier SG – the preventive care model as a universal public service – it is most likely to be the middle- to lower-income groups that will benefit the most, Mr Ong noted.
He added that the Government was looking at better integrating services for low-income families.
One example would be through the Community Link programme, where vulnerable families can access a suite of interventions, depending on their needs, through a single befriender.
However, this concept of integration can be expanded further.
“Beyond packaging different interventions and services, we can combine society’s duty to assist the vulnerable family with the family’s exercise of personal responsibility,” said Mr Ong.
He gave as an example the Brazilian welfare programme – known as Bolsa Familia under the previous Lula government – which allowed poor families to receive financial aid, provided they sent their children to school and got them vaccinated.
“It is a partnership between society and vulnerable families centring around self-reliance. It is a powerful idea.
“If it proliferates, it can potentially snowball into a strong social compact, of society at large and the more fortunate helping the less fortunate, and the less fortunate helping themselves,” said Mr Ong.
Ms Aw Lay Hoon, deputy director of Fei Yue Community Services, said that with active ageing centres now acting as touch points for seniors from all socio-economic strata, she looks forward to the additional support from the Government.
“There are many challenges associated with the mixing of people across different social classes… For instance, groups across classes might have very different interests and might not even speak the same language,” she said.
“As a result, there is a need for resources to upskill our volunteers and staff in order to learn how to socialise across groups and bring these groups together.”
While Fei Yue Community Services offers engaging recreational programmes such as flower arrangement or ukulele classes that aim to “neutralise this distance through shared activities”, Ms Aw said that these classes are already oversubscribed.
She said: “I had a member complain to me that the moment the classes are made available, they are already fully booked… Hopefully we will have more space to keep up with the increasing demand.”
Even with the additional support from the Government, Dr Christina Tiong, chief executive of Home Nursing Foundation, said that more collaboration with the community and other service providers will be needed to transform active ageing centres into reliable providers of senior care.
For instance, Dr Tiong said, the Home Nursing Foundation provides home care services to Fei Yue’s beneficiaries, while Fei Yue provides counselling services to their foundation’s beneficiaries.
However, stable volunteerism remains an issue, with the centre having only about 30 to 50 volunteers for the 2,000 seniors under their care, despite the ideal number being around 200.
Dr Tiong said: “The problem of talent acquisition plagues even commercial fields… Volunteers want to be part of a programme where it feels meaningful to give back, and we need to ensure that our programmes are structured in a way that gives them just that.”
No good health can talk what you want to be? Of course not.
You can’t even enjoy a meal in hawker center without Ccb Malaysians or sinkies walking past and whistled. I am sick and tired of being persecuted by Malaysian evil devils that get away scot free.
And I read somewhere cheap Ms Pui yi that sell nude said no Malaysians harassed her on the street. Knnbccb why Malaysians harassed me when I am not even cheap woman that sell nude like their fellow Malaysian? Pui!
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