Assistance Given to Caregivers of Persons with Dementia

12 Dr Charlene Chen asked the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health in light of a recent survey findings that caregivers of persons with dementia spend on average over 200 hours and $2,000 monthly on care after subsidies (a) whether existing assistance adequately offsets the financial and psychological strain on the caregivers; (b) whether subsidies and allowance for dementia care will be reviewed; and (c) how pathways to access support can be improved.

The Minister of State for Health (Ms Rahayu Mahzam) (for the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies and Minister for Health): Mr Speaker, an ageing population will drive up national healthcare expenses significantly. We have to ensure that Government healthcare expenditure remains sustainable. The Government recognises the challenges that caregivers face and provides a range of support to help them, including those caring for persons living with dementia.

This is why the Government is enhancing long-term care subsidies including for Dementia Day Care and grants like the Home Caregiving Grant in 2026.

To support the mental well-being of caregivers and equip them with coping skills, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) connects caregivers to relevant services such as the Caregiver Support Network Community Outreach Teams (CREST-CSN) and the Post-Diagnostic Support Community Outreach Teams (CREST-PDS). Caregivers can approach AIC Link offices, which are located nationwide, call the AIC hotline, or use the digital Care Services Recommender to access these services, which are provided free of charge.

The Government will continue to look into how we can further strengthen support for caregivers of persons living with dementia.

Mr Speaker: Dr Chen.

Dr Charlene Chen (Tampines): I thank the Minister of State for her response. I have actually met some caregivers of loved ones with dementia in Tampines and they have shared how difficult the early stages can be. One caregiver told me that she did not know where to access support, what resources were available or even how to manage her mother's behavioural symptoms that were associated with dementia. So, I have three supplementary questions.

First, how can the Ministry ensure that the information about available resources is systematically shared with all caregivers upon diagnosis, especially those who may be less digitally savvy? Second, will there be more support for caregiver respite, given the emotional and mental toll of caring for persons with dementia? And my third question is, as dementia cases rise within our communities, how will the Ministry ensure that both caregiving resources and manpower keep pace and remain sustainable in the long term?

Ms Rahayu Mahzam: Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for the questions. With regard to her first question on access to information and resources, the post diagnostic support community outreach team that I mentioned earlier, CREST-PDS, is designed in a way to catch caregivers and patients at the time that first diagnosis was made. It aims to provide timely support and support is given during a six-month period. The teams partner with selected hospitals and polyclinics to reach out to and support these clients. This programme provides the education on the condition, coordinates community resources, and facilitates early planning and management of the condition. As of December 2024, seven teams have been set up and it has reached out to over 800 persons living with dementia and their caregivers. So, I suppose as this programme continues to be rolled out, more and more caregivers and their dementia patients will benefit from this.

Her second question was on respite care. At the moment, the caregivers who require subsidised respite care can tap on a few options. If they need respite care for say, a few hours, they can have the elderly put up at one of over 130 senior care centres that provide dementia day care services. Those caring for seniors with higher care needs can tap on respite care in nursing homes, for up to a month for a year. There are over 60 nursing homes offering nursing home respite care.

Caregivers of homebound dementia seniors or homebound seniors can tap on the Home Personal Care Services (HPC) for respite. These can help the caregivers with the activities of daily living. In fact, there was an announcement recently about how the HPC has been enhanced. So, there is HPC+, which would be rolled out and be available to caregivers as well.

The Member's last question is in relation to sustainability of resources. Indeed, this is of concern. As the number of people living with dementia increases, this is something that we will have to be concerned about and the Government will have to continue to monitor and manage our healthcare expenditure to ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. But at the same time, ensuring that those who need help, people living with dementia and their caregivers, actually receive the support they need.

So, we do different things to ensure that there is sufficient support, but we also look at preventive health. There is a need to continue with our population health efforts to ensure and manage the factors of dementia, such as high blood pressure. That is something that we will continue working on.

1.00 pm

Mr Speaker: Unfortunately, I think we are at the end of Question Time. Order. End of Question Time. Minister Indranee.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No 22(3), provided that Members had not asked for questions standing in their names to be postponed to a later Sitting day or withdrawn, written answers to questions not reached by the end of Question Time are reproduced in the Appendix.]