Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division, Ministry of Information, Communications and The Arts,
MITA Building, 140 Hill Street, 2nd Storey, Singapore 179369
Tel: 837-9666

Theme : Volunteerism and contributions of voluntary welfare organisations

Venerable Ho Yuen Hoe
Venerable Seck Cheng Charn
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen

I am delighted to be here with you this afternoon at the opening of Man Fut Tong Nursing Home.

Today marks a milestone in the history of the Home. Set up in 1969 at Richards Avenue, it was the first Buddhist Home for the elderly destitute. The facilities have expanded from 24 beds when it was first set up to 232 beds today. I would like to commend Venerable Ho Yuen Hoe for her compassion and desire to help the homeless. These have been the driving forces for the set-up of Man Fut Tong Nursing Home and for the continuation and expansion of its services.

Like many countries in the world, the population in Singapore is aging. Although many elderly people can lead fulfilling and independent lives, unfortunately for some, aging is associated with ill-health and disabilities and increased use of health care resources. This poses enormous challenges to the patients and their families and to policy makers and health service providers. My Ministry has taken a multi-sectoral approach in meeting these challenges, working with other Ministries, agencies and voluntary and private organisations. Our aim is to provide good and affordable care to the elderly for the whole continuum of health care, from promotive and preventive programmes, such as health screening, to primary and acute institutional care, and long term care.

New approaches to long term care of the elderly involve a shift from institutional models to those based in the community with supportive services such as day centres and home care. Developments in assistive technologies, including those which aid the elderly to perform activities of daily living, also help the elderly maintain some independence at home.

Nursing homes help to free some of the beds in the acute hospitals by accommodating elderly who require primarily nursing care. With the increasing number of elderly in Singapore, we have to ensure that there are adequate residential facilities to meet the needs of those who genuinely require long-term institutional nursing care.

At present, there are 50 nursing homes with about 6200 beds in Singapore. Of these, 25 are run by voluntary welfare organisations and the other 25 by private organisations. Last year, four VWO nursing homes with about 900 beds were opened. In addition, 3 new VWO nursing homes will be set up over the next one or two years. Two private nursing homes with a total of 500 beds are being built and we have tendered out another site for the development of a private nursing home, with possibly a fourth site later this year.

With these new nursing homes and additional beds, we should be able to meet the demands of our population over the next few years. We are closely monitoring the demand for beds, occupancy rates and other indicators and will ensure that there will be sufficient facilities to meet the needs of our population in the longer term.

With the expected increase in health care costs associated with an aging population, my Ministry has established various funding schemes, such as Eldercare Fund and Medifund for nursing homes. In July 2000, means testing and a 3-tier subsidy framework was implemented in VWO nursing homes. The means testing was revised in October last year so that the monthly per capita income cut off was raised from $700 to $1,000. With the revised means testing, more residents in the MOH-funded nursing homes qualify for subsidy.

As announced in August last year, my Ministry will be introducing Eldershield to provide insurance coverage to elderly Singaporeans who require long-term care in the event of severe disabilities. Eldershield payouts will be in the form of cash benefit and can be used for the payment of nursing home care or for home care.

Venerable Ho’s commitment and dedication in helping the less fortunate people has touched and changed the lives of many. She and others who devote their time to helping the sick and elderly are fine examples of volunteerism. The volunteerism rate in Singapore, at 9.3%, is low, compared to other countries like Japan and the USA. I hope that more people would come forward in the spirit of volunteering and help make our society a more caring one.

People who volunteer their services do so for various reasons. Generally, they feel a need or desire to help others, which may be inspired by religious beliefs or experiences in their lives. Some of the benefits of volunteering are having a sense of satisfaction helping others, gaining work experience and developing work-related skills, such as in team work and communication.

Some volunteers use the skills that they have developed in their working lives. In the nursing homes, for example, there are volunteers like doctors, dentists, and hairdressers. Other volunteers may help in the running of the nursing home, care of the residents, spending time to cheer up the residents or in fund raising. Volunteers, therefore, play a valuable role in supporting the staff in these organisations.

Voluntary welfare organisations strengthen community bonds and enrich the lives of the most vulnerable people in our society, such as the sick, the elderly and the disabled. They play an important role as partners of my Ministry. We recognise and acknowledge their contributions to society and we will continue to work hand-in-hand with them and support them.

I am pleased to officially declare Man Fut Tong Nursing Home open.

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