SINGAPORE — Amid the rapidly ageing population, healthcare expenditure with a strong social focus to support seniors to age in place will be one of the “big items” in the Budget, said Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a visit to social service organisation AWWA Rehab and Day Care Centre on Thursday morning (Jan 25), Ms Indranee highlighted the pressing needs of the increasing elderly population in Singapore, as providing the various services would be very “resource intensive”.

While much of the pie was spent on education in the past, healthcare will be an “even bigger part” of the Budget, she said. The Budget will be delivered on Feb 19.

“Looking ahead, healthcare needs are going to rise...Healthcare expenditure is going to increase and we have to see how we can fund it in a sustainable way,” said Ms Indranee, who was responding to a question about the thinking behind the tax hike.

She added that the Government is looking at how to “better support seniors within the neighbourhood”.

Previously, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said it is aiming to build 10 Active Ageing Hubs in new public housing developments by 2020 to provide integrated health and social care services for the elderly.

It also piloted the Community Networks for Seniors in 2016, spanning areas like Choa Chu Kang, Marine Parade and Tampines, where seniors are linked with befrienders or volunteers and attend weekly active ageing programmes.

Ms Indranee added that the Government will continue to build on the efforts, but “what we will be paying more attention in this upcoming Budget is how to help them age in place (within their own neighbourhood)".

These efforts will span the entire spectrum of government and voluntary welfare organisations, charitable institutions, corporates, the public and youth, to help with the varying needs of seniors, some of whom may need specialist care, while others just need company and social interaction, she said.

Ms Indranee also outlined how the Government has made a lot of headway in the healthcare sector over the years.

For one, it has embarked on building infrastructure such as hospitals and these efforts are “well on the way”, she said. 

At last year’s Committee of Supply debates, Minister for Health, Mr Gan Kim Yong said that since 2012, it has opened Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, Changi General Hospital Integrated Building, Jurong Community Hospital and Yishun Community Hospital. This resulted in an additional 2,500 hospital beds, on top of the expansion of existing facilities.

Sengkang General and Community Hospitals are expected to open by the end of 2018, and construction is underway for Outram Community Hospital, which is scheduled to open by 2020.

From 2011 to 2017, MOH also increased the aged care capacity, more than doubling home care places from 3,800 to 8,000, and day care places from 2,100 to 5,000.

Stressing that the Budget has to be seen as a “whole”, Ms Indranee said that there would be a need to increase healthcare services, provide infrastructure, and encourage professionals to enter the healthcare sector and provide training for them.

How one goes about paying for this would be to generate revenue, and the authorities “will be paying a lot of attention to the economy (and ensuring) its growth”, she added.

Ways of doing so can be through internationalisation, innovation and technology, and getting professionals to upskill. At the same time, other revenue measures would need to be looked at, to increase Singapore’s income to support an ageing society.

However, Ms Indranee acknowledged that they are still “halfway on the journey” in terms of training for healthcare professionals. She also highlighted initiatives like the Pioneer Generation Package and the Community Health Assist Scheme (Chas) to help with medication costs.

Going forward, the government has to see if there are “any additional gaps” to fill in providing support for seniors.

Asked about the role of technology in the future, Ms Indranee pointed to an example, the technology-enabled rehabilitation in the community programme at AWWA Rehab and Day Care Centre, which took place between 2012 to 2015.

Part of a tie-up between AWWA, Singapore Polytechnic, and the Agency for Integrated Care, the software programme funded by Temasek Foundation Cares aims to help stimulate seniors’ cognitive abilities, and learn to interact with technology.

For instance, seniors play a range of cognitive-stimulating games such as matching cards, and virtual shopping in a supermarket.

She added: “The elderly learns how to use technology, but (at the back end it) takes into account the rehabilitation needs… All along the chain, different people work with technology. (It shows) how technology can change a job, and someone’s life, but you have to learn how to use it.”

However, costs to develop such technology are often an issue. “If there is a conscientious effort to look at the Budget to help to mediate the costs, it would be (good),” said AWWA’s chief executive Kevin Lee.

“The aim is not just taking on technology just for the sake for it, but it’s how you take the technology to personalise it (for the clients) and it can enable them."