Number of Persons with Caring Responsibilities Approaching Agency for Integrated Care for Assistance and Types of Help Provided in Last Five Years
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Ms He Ting Ru’s inquiry regarding the number of caregivers seeking help from the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC), the duration of assistance required, and the types of support provided. Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung stated that AIC receives approximately 100,000 enquiries annually but does not track the specific roles of enquirers or the duration of assistance. He highlighted that AIC refers about 34,000 seniors per year to eldercare services, including home, palliative, and respite care, to meet various care needs. Furthermore, AIC administers support schemes such as the Caregivers’ Training Grant, the Home Caregiving Grant (HCG), and the Seniors’ Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF). In 2021, around 34,400 and 19,500 beneficiaries received the HCG and SMF respectively to support their caregiving and mobility requirements.
Transcript
47 Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Health (a) in each of the last five years, how many persons with caring responsibilities approached the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) for help; (b) how many of these carers required assistance for (i) between three and six months (ii) six and 12 months and (iii) more than a year; and (c) what is the breakdown of the types of help provided by AIC to these individuals.
Mr Ong Ye Kung: Over the past five years, the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) received an average of 100,000 enquiries per year through their physical and virtual touchpoints. As multiple enquiries could be submitted through different channels, this figure is not reflective of the number of unique individuals. AIC does not track whether enquires were made by caregivers, seniors, or healthcare professionals, nor the duration of assistance provided.
AIC supports caregivers through a variety of means. AIC places seniors with various eldercare services, such as day and home care, palliative and nursing home care, and respite care services, to meet their short-, medium- and long-term care needs. Over the last five years, AIC referred about 34,000 seniors per year to eldercare services.
AIC also administers support schemes, such as the Caregivers' Training Grant (CTG), the Home Caregiving Grant (HCG), and the expanded Seniors' Mobility and Enabling Fund (SMF), to enable caregivers to receive training and financial support. In 2021 alone, around 34,400 and 19,500 beneficiaries received the HCG and SMF, respectively.