Assessing Social Care Needs and Community Resources for Complex Patients
- Collective Name:Matthew Ng Joo Ming
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Ageing Population;
Complex Chronic Disease;
Daunting Application
- From:The Singapore Family Physician
2017;43(3):31-37
- CountrySingapore
- Language:English
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Abstract:
Improvements in medical science and increasing survival rates on a background of an ageing population have changed the disease demographics in Singapore towards one with an increasingly complex chronic disease burden. Many will need to tap on community resources to age gracefully in place. The increasing number of single elderly who live alone also provides a challenge as research has shown that they are the highest users of healthcare resources. In Singapore, there is no lack of schemes to help the elderly poor as compared to other countries in the region. The problem, rather, is that there are too many targeted help schemes – with varying criteria and limiting conditions attached. This leads to an application process that is daunting and has many gaps where some who will benefit from the schemes but don’t qualify because they don’t meet the providers criteria.
