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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Why we need nursing homes here, not JB!</TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">1:02 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 3) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>7792.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Why we need nursing homes here, not in JB
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Saturday's letter from the Ministry of Health, 'Nursing homes - We can't match JB'.
I am disappointed at the stance taken by the ministry. The crux of the issue is not just money. It is about our identity as Singaporeans.
As a true-blue Singaporean, I wish to die in my homeland, surrounded by my children. I do not want to be told on my deathbed that my children are rushing to see me but are stuck in a traffic jam at the checkpoint.
Nothing is too difficult if we set our minds to it. Land in Singapore is tendered out for commercial, industrial and residential use, with some even used for private columbariums. The Singapore Land Authority can tender out land for nursing and retirement homes to keep costs down. Just as we keep manufacturing costs low here by making available land and facilities at a lower price to industries, why can't we do the same for our helpless, elderly Singaporeans?
This is not an issue of market forces alone. It is about caring for our people who have contributed the best years of their lives to Singapore. It is about family bonding where children can visit their parents more often.
On the issue of labour cost, nurses' wages in other countries may be lower, but do they have the same qualifications as our Singapore nurses? Our factories compete worldwide thanks to cheap foreign labour. Can we do the same in our nursing homes?
Can we develop programmes to train nursing aides specialising in geriatric medicine to lower the labour cost? We may not need that many full-fledged nurses in nursing homes, unlike in hospitals.
Comparing the building cost to that of polyclinics is not realistic. Market forces will determine the type and quality of nursing homes to be built. Are the nursing homes in Malaysia of the same quality as hospitals here when we compare costs?
If we pride ourselves on our world- class medical facilities here, how can we leave our old folk to the medical care in another country?
We must be mindful that these are the very people who helped to build our world-class medical facilities. Ivy Tan (Ms)
[email protected]
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to Saturday's letter from the Ministry of Health, 'Nursing homes - We can't match JB'.
I am disappointed at the stance taken by the ministry. The crux of the issue is not just money. It is about our identity as Singaporeans.
As a true-blue Singaporean, I wish to die in my homeland, surrounded by my children. I do not want to be told on my deathbed that my children are rushing to see me but are stuck in a traffic jam at the checkpoint.
Nothing is too difficult if we set our minds to it. Land in Singapore is tendered out for commercial, industrial and residential use, with some even used for private columbariums. The Singapore Land Authority can tender out land for nursing and retirement homes to keep costs down. Just as we keep manufacturing costs low here by making available land and facilities at a lower price to industries, why can't we do the same for our helpless, elderly Singaporeans?
This is not an issue of market forces alone. It is about caring for our people who have contributed the best years of their lives to Singapore. It is about family bonding where children can visit their parents more often.
On the issue of labour cost, nurses' wages in other countries may be lower, but do they have the same qualifications as our Singapore nurses? Our factories compete worldwide thanks to cheap foreign labour. Can we do the same in our nursing homes?
Can we develop programmes to train nursing aides specialising in geriatric medicine to lower the labour cost? We may not need that many full-fledged nurses in nursing homes, unlike in hospitals.
Comparing the building cost to that of polyclinics is not realistic. Market forces will determine the type and quality of nursing homes to be built. Are the nursing homes in Malaysia of the same quality as hospitals here when we compare costs?
If we pride ourselves on our world- class medical facilities here, how can we leave our old folk to the medical care in another country?
We must be mindful that these are the very people who helped to build our world-class medical facilities. Ivy Tan (Ms)
[email protected]
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