All You Need To Know About Elderly Home Care Services In Singapore

Elderly home care providers in Singapore offer a wide array of services to seniors who have been charged from hospital to recover at home or those who require someone to provide personal care services. These providers have the highly-trained and experienced homecare team which work all around the clock to make sure your needs or that of your loved ones are taken care off.

Personal services which you can expect from elderly home care providers include:
• Helping elderly with personal hygiene.
• Combat elderly loneliness by offering companionship services.
• Feeding the welder who can’t feed themselves
• Reminding the elderly when to take their medication.
• Carrying or moving the elderly to another location when they want to.
• Helping the elderly to understand how to use various mobility devices and equipment.

Some elderly home care providers also have highly trained and experienced nurses who help the elderly sick people. Some of the nursing care services and procedures they perform include:
• Dressing the wounds to provide the optimal conditions for healing.
• Administering various injections as recommended by the healthcare professionals.
• change or insert feeding tubes into the elderly peoples’ lower airway
• Perform airway suctioning procedures to elderly individuals with respiratory problems.
• Provides stoma care nursing services such as pre-operative counseling and outpatient care.
• Taking care of the tracheostomy tube of elderly individuals.
• Removes sutures and stitches to facilitate wound healing.

Types of Elderly Home Care Centers
There are two main types of elderly care homes centers in Singapore which we have explained them in detail below.

• Private Elderly Home Care Centers:
Most private elderly home care centers are not managed by the Ministry of Health and therefore don’t benefit from the portable subsidy scheme. However, there are a small number of private centers which benefit from this scheme under the Ministry of Health.

• VWO Home Care Centers:
There are also two categories of these centers. The first category comprises of centers that meet all the criteria for government support under the portable subsidy scheme. The second category comprises of self-funded centers which offer special support to elderly individuals who are not able to cover the total cost of their services.

Average Cost of Elderly Home Care Centers in Singapore
Singapore is one of the countries in the world with a rapidly aging population. According to the 2010 Singapore Census of Population release, over 39 percent of the population was past the median age. This is around 10 percent increase compared to the 1990 Singapore Census of Population. This increase implies that the number of elderly individuals who need home care services has increased.

Despite this interesting change, many elderly people in Singapore don’t know the cost of obtaining home care services. Typically, the total fee most home care providers ask ranges from $1,200 to $3,500 per month. This cost varies depending on:
• The type of home care services who want.
• Whether the services are offered at home or in elderly home care centers.
• The location of home care providers. •

Why You Should Not Worry About This Cost
The cost of obtaining the elderly home care may seem high to some individuals but this should not be the case because of the following reasons:
• The government continues to give home care providers and nursing homes subsidies which reduce the total cost obtaining services.
• There are several insurance programs for unemployed and low-income elderly individuals. These programs pay for the cost of services rendered to them elderly individuals by home care providers.

Available Subsidies Provided by Singapore Government
There are different levels of subsidies provided by Singapore government. To qualify for these subsidies, you must hold Singapore citizenship or enrolled in any Singapore permanent residence scheme. The total amount of money you receive varies depending on your total monthly income as described below:
• For salaries between $0 and $700, the government covers up to 75% of the total home care cost for Singapore citizens and up to 50% for permanent residents.
• For salaries between $701 and $1,100, the government covers up to 60% of the total home care cost for Singapore citizens and up to 40% for permanent residents.
• For salaries between $1,101 and $1,600, the government covers up to 50% of the total home care cost for Singapore citizens and up to 30% for permanent residents.
• For salaries between $1,601 and $1,800, the government covers up to 40% of the total home care cost for Singapore citizens and up to 20% for permanent residents.
• For salaries between $1,801 and $2,600, the government covers up to % 20 the total home care cost for Singapore citizens and up to 10% for permanent residents.
• For salaries between $2,601 and above, the government does not provide any subsidies for both Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

Additional Support Provided by Singapore Government
The Singapore Government also provides additional grants which also reduce the total cost of obtaining home care services. The two common ones include:
• The Eldershield:
This is a severe disability support program introduced in 2002 to provide both elderly Singapore citizens and permanent residents affordable insurance coverage. This program provides funds to the elderly individuals who need long-term home care.

• The Medishield:
This is a basic health insurance program for the elderly seeking home care services. This program is funded by funds from the Central Provident Fund, a compulsory comprehensive savings plan both permanent residents and Singapore residents. Funds from CPF are used to pay the fees for outpatient treatments including home care costs for the elderly.

Choosing The Right Elderly Home Care Provider
There are several elderly home care providers in Singapore that promise to offer the best services. However, not all of them live with their promise. Some of them don’t offer services that satisfy their clients. Below are some of the questions to ask when looking for the right center for you or your loved ones:
• What services does the provider offer?
• How long has the home care provider been offering their services?
• Do they have well trained and experienced employees?
• The course of treatment for you or loved ones documented?
• Does the home care provider assign supervisors to monitor the quality of services?
• What is the cost of their services?
• How does the elderly home care provider ensure confidentiality of the patients?
We hope that this article was comprehensive and has highlighted some of the important information about elderly home care in Singapore. If you have any question, feel free to ask us.