Singapore Government Press Release

Ven Shi Fazhao

Ladies and Gentlemen

The official opening of Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for The Elderly marks another project that serves the residents of Tampines. Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre is run by the Metta Welfare Association, founded by the Golden Pagoda Buddhist Temple, a Buddhist group. However, similar to other religious organisations running welfare services in Singapore, their services are provided for the less fortunate in Singapore, regardless of race or religion.

The Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for The Elderly will provide services for the elderly who have mild physical impairment. Besides the usual therapy and nursing services provided in other Rehabilitation Centres, I am told you are keen to start an acupuncture service. For the elderly with chronic pains or with strokes, acupuncture can provide some relief, and hopefully, longer term improvement. My Ministry will assist you to set up an acupuncture service if you decide to do so at some point in future.

To provide continuity of care or seamless care for the elderly, Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for The Elderly can explore networking with Changi General Hospital. Changi General Hospital can refer the appropriate elderly patients to your Centre, if they are assessed to be able to benefit from the Centre's programmes. The Hospital can maintain close communication with you on the medical condition, proposed management plan and progress of the patients. You can also approach the Hospital to help your staff obtain some training in rehabilitative and other forms of care.

Through such cooperation between Changi General Hospital and your Centre, the referred patients will benefit, as they can be managed at the most appropriate setting which is both convenient and cost effective.

Collaboration and networking with other service providers will also help you to maximise your effectiveness and outreach. There is already a Community Care network in the east, comprising the day care and home care service providers in the eastern region of Singapore. This networking committee looks into the needs of the elderly in the local neighbourhoods and the gaps in services available. The Committee works by using the bottom-up approach, and reports to the National Council of Social Services.

Similarly, for the elderly service providers in west and central Singapore, there are also Community Care networks to promote coordination and strengthen relationship among service providers. For nursing home care, there is a special Nursing Home network which enables nursing home providers to come together to share experiences and resolve operational problems. I therefore urge Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for The Elderly to join the Community Care network for the east, so that through networking and synergy, care to the elderly will be provided by the most appropriate provider and the elderly can be "seamlessly" transferred from one service to another should his needs change.

With this, I thank the Metta Welfare Association for choosing to site this Day Rehabilitation Centre for The Elderly in Changkat constituency. This will certainly provide the much needed and convenient facility for our elderly residents and their families here. With our recently announced multi-service centre project in connection with the North East Community Development Council and the Home Nursing Foundation, situated at Tampines Street 11, our Tampines residents will have access to a wide range of health and social services close to where they live. I now take pleasure in declaring open the Metta Day Rehabilitation Centre for The Elderly.

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