Home Visits by Silver General Office Ambassadors

3 Ms Anthea Ong asked the Minister for Health (a) what is the average number of home visits conducted by each Silver Generation Office (SGO) ambassador; (b) what is the ratio between SGO ambassadors and households; (c) what is the average time period between home visits by SGO ambassadors for households requiring follow-ups and for households not requiring follow-ups respectively; and (d) what is the total amount of money spent to make possible the home visits conducted by SGO ambassadors.

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Home visits are primarily carried out by around 3,000 Silver Generation Ambassadors (SGAs), who are volunteers. On average, each SGA conducts 85 engagements per year.

SGAs typically engage seniors at least once every 18 months. For seniors with more complex needs, the visits would usually be more frequent and some of these visits would be made by SGO staff rather than SGAs. SGO staff would work with community providers to develop an integrated and holistic package of support for the seniors.

SGAs are given an allowance of $10 per senior engaged.