Singapore Government Press Release

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Good evening

Haji Abu Bakar Maidin, President Jamiyah

Ladies & gentlemen

I am very happy to be here today to officiate at the opening of this new home for aged destitutes - the Jamiyah Home for the Aged or Darul Takrim.

My Ministry, with the assistance of the Public Works Department (PWD), has built four replacement homes for the Woodlands Home for the Aged, which closed down last year after 32 years of operation. Four organisations, Jamiyah being one of them, were selected to run these replacement homes. Despite having received the keys only last month, Jamiyah has, within this short space of time, turned this facility into a cosy place for the residents. It was Jamiyah’s good track record and commitment to the provision of social services that it was chosen as the managing agent for this Home.

The four replacement homes were built at a cost of $46 million, with this particular home costing about $12 million. On top of this capital outlay by the Government, MCD is providing Jamiyah with 100% recurrent funding for each resident. This full funding will enable Jamiyah to concentrate its efforts on running the Home and implementing programmes for residents.

This home, as well as the other three replacement homes, will serve as a model for future homes for the aged. These homes, like other facilities, would have to maximise the use of the land given to them. Features which would then be needed include ramps to link the various levels, as well as lifts for less mobile patients, like what we can see in this home. There are also grab bars in the shower rooms and toilets, now common features in aged homes and which will, hopefully, become common features in all households which have elderly residents.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jamiyah for the strong support you have given to my Ministry in the provision of services to the community.

As we approach the 21^st century and the prospect of a rapidly ageing population in Singapore, there will be many older persons who are frail but who need not live in institutions. They can be cared for in a home environment by their loved ones and, with support from the community and Government, enable them to grow old gracefully amidst familiar surroundings.

One way of achieving this goal would be to ensure that VWOs and organisations which provide care for the elderly living in the community maintain consistently high standards in their provision of services and programmes. To this end, the Committee of the Aged under MCD is producing a guide for service providers. The guidelines serve as a benchmark on the standards of care for community-based elderly services. The guide cuts across all types of community-based services, from day care services, home help services, counselling services to health care centres.

Some of the issues addressed by the guide book are:-

an individual care plan tailored to the needs and preferences of the client;

the involvement of the client’s family or significant others in determining the care plan of the client;

initial and ongoing assessment of the needs of the client to ensure that appropriate help is given; and

co-ordination and networking between different agencies to facilitate inter-agency referrals.

The guide will be launched by the middle of this year. This is a proactive move towards improving the quality of care into the next century.

To conclude, I would once again like to thank Jamiyah for agreeing to manage this Home. I have no doubt that you will continue to maintain the high standards of service and commitment which you have shown in you other projects and programmes.

And now, it is my pleasure to declare Darul Takrim the Jamiyah Home for the Aged officially open.