Managing Prison Inmates with Dementia and Supporting Their Re-integration into Society

14 Ms Usha Chandradas asked the Minister for Home Affairs (a) what are the challenges faced by (i) inmates with dementia during their incarceration and (ii) prisons in managing and accommodating such inmates; (b) how are these challenges being addressed; and (c) what measures and initiatives are available during imprisonment and after the release of such inmates to (i) support them in their re-integration into society and (ii) assist their families in the process, with the aim of reducing the risk of re-offending.

The Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, inmates with dementia face similar challenges as persons living with dementia in the community. For example, they may find it difficult to remember events, communicate with others and carry out daily tasks.

The Singapore Prison Service (SPS) calibrates the support for each inmate based on their individual needs, including the severity of their dementia. They receive specialist outpatient medical care for their dementia at the Institute of Mental Health and Changi General Hospital, and undergo regular follow-ups as required. They will be housed at the Complex Medical Centre of the prison if they require close monitoring by medical staff.

All inmates, including those with dementia, can attend programmes aimed at strengthening family relations. Families of inmates with dementia who require assistance can also approach SPS' Family Resource Centres (FRCs) which are located at the Prison Link Centre. The FRCs work with the Ministry of Social and Family Development and community partners to look into the needs of the inmates and their family.

Inmates with dementia who lack family support and require long-term residential care can be referred to nursing homes or welfare homes through the Agency for Integrated Care, upon their release.

Mr Speaker: Ms Usha Chandradas.

Ms Usha Chandradas (Nominated Member): I thank the Minister of State for his replies. I have three supplementary questions. First of all, would the Ministry consider setting up a dedicated dementia ward in prisons to house prisoners with cognitive problems. As a country, Singapore is expected to attain super-aged status by 2026. I think this is something that we are all familiar with – by 2030, one-in-four Singaporeans will be aged 65 and above. So, this is a problem that is really going to be very prevalent in our society.

At the moment, I understand we do have special assisted living cells to help in the rehabilitation of inmates who have physical impairments. So, could a similar model be explored for those with dementia and related major neuro cognitive disorders? That is my first supplementary question.

My second supplementary question is, how regularly does the Ministry conduct assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of current in-prison support systems for inmates with dementia?

And my third supplementary question is, whether or not there are established protocols for early screening and diagnosis of dementia, especially amongst elderly, incoming and existing inmates?

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. I want to assure the Member that for every inmate who comes in, we will do the needs assessment and we also look at the security and risk level in terms of their offence, and assessment of the medical needs as well.

This is the premise that we start off with. No doubt they are spending their time there and they are being incarcerated, but they are human beings, just like any of us.

So, with regard to dementia and also the kind of medical issues faced by our inmates – and we understand also that just like anyone else would know, we have an ageing society and similarly, it is reflected in the inmates population – as I have shared in my answer, we will provide the necessary treatment and care, depending on the medical needs of the inmates.

Currently, there are three inmates in SPS' custody who are diagnosed with dementia. We look after them, we work with the medical centre and also Changi General Hospital to see what their needs are. So, I want to assure the Member that we will continue to look at it, take care of them and at the same time, making sure that all of them have the opportunity to go through the programmes that are open to the inmates.

And from time to time, we do the assessment. We also are part of the international fraternity, whereby we are plugged into the system and we always make sure that we are able to care, and not only caring, it is also about that rehabilitation and re-integration process, so, a through-care process where we want to make sure that the inmates not only serve their sentence, but that they are able to rebuild their lives and be re-integrated into society.

I want to thank the Member for her care and concern about this issue, and assure her that we are consistent with her concerns, we share her concerns. And we will do our best to care for the inmates, regardless of what medical conditions they are facing.